99: 3 strategies to turn criticism into opportunities

Join me this week as I discuss the 5 Values I think all highly sensitive professionals could use as their North Star to avoid overwhelm, create safe relationships and have confidence in what they do. These are my 5 company values and the values I live by as a highly sensitive person and business leader: #1 - Self-love and Self-trust #2 - Motivation #3 - Diversity and Inclusion #4 - Community #5 - Grit In this episode, I share with you how I define each value and talk you through why they are so meaningful and worth pursuing in the context of being highly sensitive. They also speak to the sort of community and space I am cultivating for highly sensitive professionals to join and develop themselves in a safe and fulfilling environment. Join my bi-weekly HSP-focused newsletter to learn more, get tips and stay up to date with events and opportunities:  https://www.highly-sensitive-leaders.com/

Almost a decade ago, I had a major conflict with one of my siblings. And the truth is, I wasn’t equipped to handle it. Not like I am today.  Fear of conflict is very common for HSPs. Simply because of the emotional charge these conversations involve. A non-HSP would feel an average emotional charge. You get 220 volts, just because of the way your nervous system and your brain are wired. Managing conflict for an HSP, at first, feels like asking a teddy bear to go to war. It just isn’t our thing. But if we leave or bury our head in the sand every time there is a downward curve in the relationship, we won’t be able to maintain the relationships which are most valuable to us, whether it is in our friends, at work, or with our family. In this episode and in my upcoming Exclusive workshop, I teach you how to be ok with the idea of conflict, and how to approach it with more confidence in ourselves, and in others, in a way which is less emotional, and a bit more objective. Learning to navigate these emotionally charged conversations will allow you to set the boundaries which you need to set, to say No (or Yes) when you need to, and generally create space for yourself within any relationship. Managing and reframing your fear of conflict will also enable you to collaborate with others, in various contexts, more confidently and comfortably. RSVP for your Exclusive Fear of conflict workshop HERE – 3 spaces left. Join our free community of highly sensitive leaders and professionals HERE. I will see you inside!

Does receiving feedback or criticism trigger alarm bells in your mind? Does it become a dreaded conversation where you feel attacked, rather than an open conversation you welcome and learn from? If that’s you, join me this week on the podcast as I teach you 3 strategies you can implement today to turn feedback and criticism into endless opportunities in your life and career. HSPs can find these conversations difficult and we dive into the reasons why as it is important to understand our context and automatic reactions. Then we start shifting towards the benefits of being open and acceptant of any feedback coming your way, in a way that is going to release a lot of energy for you. Finally, I lay out my 3 favourite strategies to practice and nail receiving criticism in any situation, whether formally or informally, and whether we are expecting it or not. Join us this month at the HSP Power Hub HERE to dig deeper into this topic, and getting all the support you need to create your best life and career as an HSP. I will see you there!

Have you ever felt constrained by time, pressured by it, or anxious about it? Conversely, have you ever felt anxious at the idea of having a long stretch of time ahead of you? This is something that, as a highly sensitive person, I have experienced time and time again.  And this has led to a lot of confusion and overwhelm when it was time to plan, organise and prioritise, because I wasn’t comfortable with the time element, and I didn’t know why. Later on, I figured out that I was highly sensitive, and it all started to make sense. If you are someone who gets anxious, overwhelmed or confused around planning, prioritising, organising your time, but also if you find yourself not being able to stick to deadlines and see your commitments or project through to the end, this episode is for you. Today, we are figuring out how to get time on our side. So, friends, let’s get started. Join our 3-day challenge, "Get time on your side", HERE. Join the HSP Power Hub, my exclusive monthly membership, HERE.

Join me on the podcast today to learn to manage your perfectionist inclinations, so that you are able to show up confidently, even when things get scary, and you can really focus on your growth, on your journey, and on your power to bring incredible things to the table, rather than constantly worrying and being upset about not being “perfect” enough. Today, I am sharing with you how I have built acceptance towards things being messy and imperfect, and now use it as a superpower, and teach HSPs in my community to do the same. To join us on this journey, go to www.highly-sensitive-leaders.com/powerhub

Join HSP and leadership expert Muriel this week on the podcast to explore the best strategies to thrive when you feel misunderstood as an HSP. Today, we talk about this feeling of being misunderstood, or perhaps not being understood at all, when you are HSP. She shares two stories around feeling misunderstood which she has experienced over the Christmas holiday – you’re not alone! She shares how she's managed these situations, the strategies she has used to thrive, and what she has learned to keep growing. She is teaching you 5 strategies in order to keep going and keep thriving even when people around seem completely disconnected from your experience as an HSP. We naturally want to insist, re-explain, repeat – out of frustration – but how about we take a step back and regain our power with the strategies she suggests? Applying these strategies will allow you to navigate people’s reactions in a balanced way, and find solutions that work for you as an HSP with ease and in peace. Join us within the HSP Power Hub membership HERE from 1st of February to start creating your best life as an HSP.

“When you’re tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” - Banksy Join me on the podcast this week as I explore the significance of this quote for us as HSPs. We often equate “I am tired/overwhelmed” with “I can’t do this”, and therefore quit on our dreams or on some goals which feel out of reach because we are highly sensitive and often depleted of our energy levels, or experience intense peaks and throughs which scrape away our self-confidence. I share my biggest lesson from 2023 around stopping the confusion and seeing that my dreams are completely within my reach if I feel rested.  I teach you how rest and being away from stimulation is paramount and maybe the only non-negotiable we have to work with as HSPs to achieve our goals. I share 3 top tips with you to help you on your journey towards feeling more rested and maintaining motivation, strength and resilience to achieve anything you put your mind to. Learning to rest is my version of sustainable success for HSPs. Join our community on Meetup HERE and take part in our free live events for HSPs.

Self-care is a true gift to yourself as an HSP. We are exploring self-care in this last episode of the year, with the intention of giving it centre-stage all year long to feel at our best. I give you important context around self-care, its true meaning and its importance for HSPs. We deep dive into our main challenge when it comes to self-care and the reason why we have a tendency to put it on the back burner. I give you three solutions to start practicing and applying today, over the Holiday season but also throughout the year. I teach you how to become really good at hearing and honouring your emotional, physical and mental needs, every single day of the year, so that you consistently calm your nervous system, recharge away from stimulation and feel aligned with the best version of you day in and day out. Join of thriving community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors HERE and why not give us a try in January?

Join me on the podcast this week as I discuss and teach our key strategies to celebrate yourself (for real!) this season, but also regularly throughout the year, in line with your HSP trait. As HSPs, we naturally focus on others, on supporting, on giving, on completing projects perfectly. So it is sometimes hard for us to stop and look back. This podcast is an invitation to celebrate yourself starting today, and develop a daily celebration practice. I teach you why this is important, and how to do it in a way that is sustainable. It’s hard for us to be proud of ourselves – being proud of myself is still very much a work in progress for me. So this episode is our opportunity to stop and reflect on what you are most proud of this year. I share with you my best celebration practices, both as reflections and real-life celebration events. I show you how to overcome your tendency to look for other people’s feedback and get re-acquainted with our own feedback and support system, which is always available. My 3-step framework will be invaluable for you to look at your accomplishments from different perspectives and start easing yourself into celebration mode, and start enjoying the process! More info and join my Exclusive Boundaries Workshop (and community) HERE.

Join us on the podcast this week to hear more about our relationship to time as HSPs, and how this relationship might be triggering some of the anxiety and overwhelm you might be experiencing. Our perception and experience of time is different from the rest of the population because, as HSPs, our brain processes information differently. This might impact how we feel about time passing, about the time we have or don’t have to do our tasks, or maybe our feeling of having too much time, which can also trigger anxiety. We explore other elements such as time estimation and productivity, always with a focus on neurodivergence and where we HSPs are on the spectrum between neurodivergence and neurotypicality. I offer good questions, tips and an experiment to really start exploring your relationship with time, and get on track to make time your ally for feeling calm, in control and staying productive. Join our amazing community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors HERE and attend free live events to kickstart your HSP journey.