What qualities do you admire most in other people? I admire people who take action to change what isn’t working and intentionally take action steps toward what does. I am so in awe of the intentional steps that highly sensitive people (HSPs) take to seek empowerment and live to their fullest potential. What makes some of us take action steps, and others stay stuck? I’ve always been fascinated by this question. I know my empowerment steps came when I felt like my sensitivities were holding me back, igniting anxiety and depression, making me reactionary in my relationships, and ultimately zapping my joy. As a mother, I also knew I had to find a balance too, so I could give my children the life they deserved. I also had a lot I wanted to accomplish in life, and I wanted to help people. Living in the world as a highly sensitive person in a world not set up for my sensitive nervous system was hard. I felt overwhelmed, exhausted, emotional, and in survival mode, just barely getting through the day. How could I possibly be a mom AND productive human helping others when I was having such a hard time stressing myself?

In my quest to find ways to lower my stress levels, I discovered how brain training tools could help me activate calming centers in my brain that could de-activate stress centers, and this changed my life. Learning that I had control over what I thought was out of control was the turning point in every aspect of my life. I could get out of a toxic relationship, heal my depression and anxiety, get a graduate degree in psychology, and rebuild my life. I remember one day my son, who was probably ten at the time, said he noticed I was smiling and laughing more. That was a remarkable moment, and I knew that if I could do this, anyone could do it! It became my mission to help other HSPs learn how to live their best lives too.

I knew that my clients were improving quickly, and watching them climb higher and higher on the thriving ladder and move toward the life they deserved was exciting, and everything started coming together. I wanted more HSPs to have these tools, too, so I started writing books for HSPs and then creating online HSP courses to reach more people.

In hopes that this can inspire you to know what those first empowerment steps look like, let’s learn more about the HSPs taking intentional steps toward positive change. The following are the amazingly inspiring answers HSP students in my brain training course, who chose to take the steps toward empowerment, gave to the question…

What made you take this first step toward empowerment and sign up for this course? 

-I want to feel better and have more energy and zest for life.

-I want to live my life alive, and use what I have been given to contribute. I want to be my best self for people around me, family, friends, employees, kiddos, and whoever I come in contact with.

-I'm living small and it's becoming uncomfortable, but the fear of moving into fullness makes me freeze. I've got to get out of this space.

-I love life and I have so many dreams and ambitions that I always make the same mistake...I get exhausted because I don't balance out my days. I want to know my body well and be true to what I can do so I can be balanced and energetic in the fields I want to progress into.

-Wanting to understand how to live as an HSP and experience a love of just being Me, and being OK with that.

-I want to learn as much as I can about being an HSP as I still struggle daily with sensory and emotional overload. I still feel like I can use more help and that there is SO much more I can learn to help myself. I have 2 daughters, one I know is also HS, and the other I think might be as well. I want to learn how to take care of myself, so I can help them live their best life too. I am tired of living with so much overload and anxiety and ups and downs. I am committed to this course to learn how to live my best life as a highly sensitive person.

-I am tired of being tired. I want to see the beauty in the world again (I only have energy to see so little of it). I want to feel calm and secure in myself.

-I want to learn to like myself and feel like I have inherent value in myself outside of other people.

-Intention:  I signed up for this course to continue to develop awareness of the trait of high sensitivity, to learn tools, to find balance, and to transform so that I may thrive to my highest potential in life and I live with joy authentically.  Enabling others to do the same would be a bonus.  Commitment:  I’m devoting time to this course daily so that at the end of each day I feel a sense of accomplishment.  I’m making myself a priority!

-I wanted to learn more about myself and who I am.

-I am committed to living my best life and utilising  and unlocking all my gifts and talents to become the best version of myself and in turn living a more , positive, fulfilling life.

-I'm taking this course because I want to live. I believe my walls and insecurities about feeling don’t help me live fully.

-To manage my stress activators effectively, so that I can better focus on achieving my career and life goals.

-I want to improve, practising what I learn. Not just "knowing" but "living and experiencing" the skills and tips to live better as a HSP.

-I want to better understand why I often feel so lost and overwhelmed as I believe there's a strong chance nothing is actually wrong with me - I just don't yet know how to manage how I feel. I'm committed to trying this to see if it's the answer to better managing how I feel.

-I want to deal with my emotions and my anxieties in a way that makes me feel more powerful and in control of my life. I let go of what others think of me.

-I desire to live my life as the best version of me.

-Want to be able to self-regulate and listen to my body.

-I want to challenge and grow myself and improve at work.  I also want to improve in building my relationships and maintaining balance.

-A difficult conversation with a friend led to feelings of anxiety and overwhelm during my vacation, which led to me not being able to relax and enjoy the time off as much as I had anticipated. I intend to learn strategies to mitigate and manage my emotional reactivity so I can live in a more healthy way.

-Taking responsibility for myself, I want to embrace my unique qualities as an HSP.  I am tired of always feeling at the mercy of others.  It’s time that I learn to love Myself.

-I need to become more accepting of myself and be able to navigate my feelings.

-I had learnt about the course a while ago and knew I wanted to commit time to it. Originally I was going to wait until I'd completed my coaching course, but with the Covid-19 pandemic making my work stressful and more intense due to working from home, I decided I needed to take action now. My intention is to learn and practice tools and techniques that support my sensitive nervous system and commit to looking after my sensitive needs for the rest of my life.

-I have been interested in this course and in learning more about the neurological approaches for helping the HSP brain and I saw the course was on sale right now. I would like to continue to find ways to practice better self care, continue to enhance my understanding of the trait, and increase my acceptance around my sensitivity.

-I grew up with emotionally neglectful parents, who taught me to not have emotions and resulted in becoming extremely independent and terrible at asking for help. I need help controlling my emotions especially when I visit my in laws.

-When I’m good I’m fine for weeks on end. I journal, I try to articulate myself and communicate with my husband, and even try to teach my children about emotional regulation. But when I’m triggered I fall apart for days. 

-I tend to overthink and this course I hope will help me toward healing and overall prevent this from affecting our kids.

-Get more calm in my life.

-Starting a new job and being unable to give myself a break while I'm learning the ropes at the new place.  And terrible, defeating self talk that made me want to quit and worse.  Realizing that this is not working for me and I need to find a new way. My intention is to find a kinder language and way of being with myself that is supportive and not destructive.

-I'm really tired of feeling either "not enough" or "too much"; I feel like I've just reached a point where I have to try to do something for myself. I am committing to investing as much energy into myself as I do my clients and to gain knowledge about myself in order to increase my self-compassion.

-Within myself I feel it's time to start fresh. I'm ready to plunge in & continue with my journey with even a better mindset than from before. I'm ready to  begin what I’ll call phase 2.

-Managing my emotions and how I respond. Learning to set boundaries and follow through.

-I have a strong desire to understand myself as deeply as I possibly can, so I can empower myself to live my best life whilst here on the planet.  I also want to give the gift of understanding to others who share similar traits so they can have an easier path in life and be the most successful that they can be, without limiting beliefs, blocks and past hurts holding them back.

-Feeling stuck, depressed, sabotaging my relationship, feeling out of control, at risk of losing my love.

-I searched for HSP podcasts and found Julie's right away, and I've been listening nearly daily and feel like I've found my people. I've accepted living in struggle for too long, and I'm ready now to learn how to manage being an HSP and live a happier life.

-I have been having a panic attack the last few days, and just thought back through my life and how often anxiety has prevented me from living life to the fullest.

-Learn how to communicate effectively without shutting down or letting my emotions go sky high. 

-Finding more balance in my life. And being an attentive listener.

-I want to be happy and not worry so much about everything in my life.

-I wanted to learn more about HSP and the tools that will make life easier when having this trait.

-I have known about being highly sensitive for about ten years. I am a new mom and want to do some practical work in anticipation of some of the new challenges that will arise in parenthood (as a direct result of being a HSP).

-Learn and practice new tools to calm my brain and accept my unique self.

-I signed up for this course to learn how to better be out in the world with less overwhelm, more energy and presence.  I want to be able to control my emotions better and be more balanced, with less overthinking and worrying all the time. My commitment is to do the coursework, homework, engage in the community during these 8 weeks to strengthen this in myself.

-When I feel like I've hurt someone with my words, actions or behaviors I get emotional.

-My intention to be use this course to supplement my ongoing therapy with my weekly therapist and to learn more practical ways to lessen my overwhelming anxiety and thoughts overload and to learn more about on the neuroscience behind it all.

-I want to stop getting to the point of overwhelm where I explode on my family. Things have to change. I'm committed to learning how to make that change.

-Feeling overwhelmed and needing to find a way to support myself better.

-I wanted to understand the trait more and myself and hopefully after this course I will feel more confident in working with other HSP’s

-I have lived with feelings of extreme overwhelm for many years and it disrupts every day of my life.  It has led to chronic health issues and hesitation with engaging in activities and moving forward with life.  I am no longer willing to tolerate my life in this way and need to make a change.

-I want to learn more about my self so I can avoid pitfalls of my natural traits and use them for my benefit and for the benefit of people around me.

-I realized I needed more brain based, every day techniques in order to honor myself in a world where I always felt I didn't belong.

-I am tired of living my life on autopilot. Wanting to live my life with intention is what started my search. Finding out that I struggled with childhood emotional neglect and that I experienced a deeper wounding because I'm an HSP led me to want to learn more about myself as an HSP and ways to thrive. I intend to show up weekly and I'm committed to doing the work necessary to learn to thrive.

-I know I am gifted and want to learn how to use my gifts through self-care and skill development.

-I do not want to live anymore with stress, health and emotional problems.

-I knew it was now or never. I've lived too long with feeling hyper and hypoaroused, rarely in my window of tolerance. I want to be in a space where I can access my wise mind, healthy adult more readily so that I can be there for myself, to do what I love, and to be fully present and alive in every role - be it a son, a therapist, a friend. I've been doing mindfulness and self-compassion for some time, but it seems to me (after taking your HSP quiz) that I need more than that to thrive.

-I always thought my emotions, feelings and reactions were just how I am wired. I am now realizing that I can make some real changes regarding neuropathways and how I react to stress. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a lot of anxiety and stress for me and feelings of being out of control.

-What made me take this first step toward empowerment and sign up for this course is that I feel empowered at times and successful but then I sabotage myself.  It's cyclical...I have had some trauma in my childhood that keeps getting retraumatized and I feel like it's because I am an HSP.  There is an awareness I feel right before I self-sabotage and at the moment the pattern inside me that self-sabotages is stronger than I am right now, and it's devastating especially to my finances and parts of my health.  I feel this course can help me break this pattern because from what I understand this course has exercises based on neuroscience and retraining the mind, and this is exactly what I need.  I also need a support system that understands what I am going through without offering low functioning jokes or saying that I am too sensitive.  My intention is to heal this pattern so that I can have a better financial organization and better cognitive function in my career.  I also want to set better boundaries with clients and friends in a self-loving way for my self and them.  I am committed to doing this work and set aside time each week and each day so that I may prosper in an authentic way with my business, my health, my relationships, and my finances.  Thank you!

-I am wanting to learn more tools to work with being an HSP for more freedom in life. My intention & commitment are for deeper self acceptance, love and more thriving !!

-I was tired of feeling anxious, flight or flight, reactive mode. I want to find ways to live more comfortably and confident in myself.

-To help me acknowledge my extra sensitive feelings; recognize them when they happen and to learn to respond vs. react when they arise.  And to calm my over-reactive nervous system.  Meditation helps a great deal but I am sure that there are extra steps I can take, being an HSP, that will help me be able to calm myself even more and to roll with things as they unfold. :-)

-I'm tired of constantly feeling depleted.  I am taking steps to feel renewed.

-I feel I would benefit in many areas of my life I feel less sensory and emotional overload. My intention is to complete this course and explore these tools for eight weeks minimum

-I want to live more like the ocean, at peace with ebbs and flows, rather than like flames that continuously burn out only to spark up again when least expected, chaotic and angry.  In order to become the good wife, mom, daughter, and sister I long to be, I will learn the skills and strategies to create a tranquil flow for my life while revealing the benefits of my HSP trait.  I will find a way to love myself.

-I continue to feel depleted, stressed, anxious and overwhelmed and I wanted to change this. I want to feel joy, happiness, calm and peace.

-I have had enough with stress ruining my body. I need to learn how to look after myself better before my body goes into stress mode. I deserve to live a fulfilling life and love who I really am, an HSP. I have learned a lot on my own but I need a real teacher to show me how to look after myself.

-I want to handle better my emotions which I have wanted for a while as I have become more self aware. I want to be happier and more comfortable with myself so that I can have better relationships.

-I have been working hard over the past year in building internal resources- but this pandemic seems to have me frozen- in this overwhelming space where I cannot effectively do my job.

Did you find this as inspiring as I do?! Did you relate? Please share in the comments! I love witnessing the first steps an HSP makes to live their life more fully, to learn to love who they are in the world, and to reduce the challenges so they can access and share their many superpower gifts that will help the world.

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