Yeah. I said it. Stop taking things so personally.
Every now and again we all read too far into something (*nothing, actually) and give it a deeper meaning or purpose than its genuine intent. And yes, human communication can cause misunderstandings, but as a highly sensitive person myself, it’s important to recognize that our oversensitivity can (*majorly) contribute to this.
I’m sure you’ve heard it many times before here, there, and somewhere in between, but I mean it. It’s time to stop taking things so personally.
Truth is…
99% of the world isn’t about us.
And that person over there definitely did not care about what you said, what you did, or what you’re wearing.
Everyone is caught up doing their own thing, or doing their own thing with their own people. And, why shouldn’t they? Frankly, the world is tipped farther on the me-scale than the you-scale.
So many things happen in this big beautiful life of ours that most of how we react to the world around us has nothing to do with others on the outside but really just ourselves on the inside, right?
You woke up late because your alarm didn’t go off. You grabbed your coffee too quickly and the spill burned your hand. You run out the door and forget your keys inside. You might feel bummed and have an attitude for the day (*if this is you, read my article, Change In Perspective: Gratitude) and take it up with your parents when you call them later, even though your tone has nothing to do with them. They didn’t cause your sass, your morning did. My point is that while there are certainly others who go out of their way to put others down (*my belief: only a small percentage because I think the world is a good place composed of good people), it’s the idea that often we aren’t the cause of someone’s bad attitude that is seemingly directed at us, as it’s likely a personal issue that they are dealing with on their own and has nothing to do with you or me.
So, let’s stop taking things personally and let’s not make assumptions. People are in their own worlds. It’s not about you, it’s not about me. It’s about them. It’s healthy for our sake to take a step back, not read into a situation with hypersensitivity, detach ourselves from their attitude (*or whatever is making you take this personally), and remember that each person has their own things to deal with. You do. I do. They do.There can be lot of comfort in that.
*Real Talk:
To all of us highly sensitive people out there, let me remind you that there are lots of good that comes from our sensitivity. We are overwhelmed by beautiful creative works to the point of tears (*remember that time I cried in front of Willem de Kooning’s Villa Borghese? No? I do).
Our heightened sense of empathy is so high that we deeply feel the same as those closest to us, truly unable to tell the difference between who’s emotion is who’s (*cue the same stress, joy, hurt, tears, excitement… bring it on, loved one). It all begins to blend together and before you know it, we’re crying because you’re crying. Out of love, of course. Also, we’re really good at zoning out, especially in a loud or busy place (*aka, sensory overload).
Similar to hearing every thought in the room, we’re constantly absorbing all different kinds of energies and emotions. For our own self-preservation, we get real good at zoning out and having the zombie effect. Meaning, we get a hell of a good sleep (*our dreams are a different sensory story). It’s a talent. And, like, not to brag or anything but our sense of taste and smell is insane.
We have either strong likings for something or a strong disliking for another – and we definitely know which is which. That caffeine boost in our morning coffee? Talk about wild. You think it gets you up in the morning? Try us!