How to thrive as an HSP and an entrepreneur
Hi friends. 🌻 Do you think you might be an entrepreneur who is also an HSP? If so, this is for you! Learning about your HSP traits can help you make wise business decisions. The more you understand yourself, the easier it will be to set your business up to meet your needs for success. Happiness, less stress and income will follow with more ease. You have different needs from non-HSPs; let's look at your strengths and the areas you might need extra support.
And that's okay. I'm going to share the advantages this gives you as an entrepreneur and go through some of the things you will want to provide some extra TLC too. You can find more resources as well at the end 💝.
First, let's understand what an HSP is
In a nutshell, Highly Sensitive People have a unique central nervous system 🦄 sensitivity to physical, emotional, or social stimuli. According to her, the term "Highly Sensitive Person" was created by psychologist Elaine Aron and describes 15-20% of the population. Being an HSP is not an illness or a diagnosis but is characterized by Aron as an evolved personality trait.
HSPs feel emotions more easily and deeply, and we have a greater depth of information processing.
Understand your strengths as an HSP
We are the queens of empathy. We can more fully honour the needs of others and serve them better as entrepreneurs.
Highly intuitive. We can pick up on subtle bits of information while working with others and often use this information to solve problems, help others reach goals and generally work some magic.
We are good listeners. So much good can come from this. We build trust, learn more about other people, create safe spaces and build solid foundations for progress.
We can pick up how you feel with ease. Similar to my point about intuition, we can save you from having to explain yourself if you're not up to that. We can almost feel what you feel, and we will easily empathize with and honour you.
Never void of thought, we are very creative thinkers. You can count on us for innovative ideas and critical thinking.
We can easily connect with others. This may be due to our ability to pick up on subtle information. We won't let you flounder and can sense if you are comfortable and adjust our behaviour so you feel at ease.
We have a natural desire to help others. We feel your pain and genuinely want to help make that go away.
We have the capacity for deep connections and harrowing work ethics. We can go in deep and aren't afraid of the messy bits of humanity. If the going is difficult, we can handle it and demonstrate a surprising tenacity and inspiring work ethic.
Know where you need some extra TLC as an HSP
We need a lot of downtimes to replenish our energy. Planning and self-care habits are essential for us to fill our tanks regularly. Make this a non-negotiable.
Boundaries are essential for us to set and maintain to be our best selves. Some people can take advantage of our good nature without even intending to; others can drain our energy. The way you create your business can set you up for success.
Regular check-ins are crucial for self-evaluation. We can become so involved with the lives of others, including our clients, that we may need to recognize what we need for ourselves. You can only get what you need if you are checking in regularly.
We have an extra vibrant inner critic. We need to learn how to manage our inner critics because they can become disruptive quickly. Journaling, meditation, exercise and healthy habits are all helpful habits. Regular check-ins can quiet the chatty critic as well.
Your way is the only way as an HSP in business
Don't ever forget that the best way for you in business is your 🙅🏽♀️ way.
It's easy to tick ⏰ along, creating your services and offerings and setting things up, only to realize it's not what you need to thrive. We can get swept up in what everyone else is doing without checking in with ourselves for what we need. More than this, I know it's difficult to understand the consequences of your decisions today.
This is where I can help.
Everything about the business you create results in energy.
Your decisions today result in the amount of energy required to sell, set up, run, service and maintain; your clients, systems, tech, offerings and more. And, of course, a lot of this is a learning experience. None of us get it all figured out right away; however, ultimately, the goal should be to find your way of ease, flow and joy.
So how do you do this?
A very holistic approach to business building with self-knowledge at the core. You can learn more about holistic business strategy here. Learn as much as you can about yourself, use that as your guiding light, and you will be well on your way to creating a business that supports you fully. Essentialism is also a valuable concept to understand, with many helpful strategies that can help you live, work and be your best self.
HSP Resources
The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron Ph.D.
The Empowered Highly Sensitive Person: A Workbook to Harness Your Strengths in Every Part of Life Paperback by Amanda Cassil PhD
