This video discusses a little know concept from brain science that explains what causes sensitivity. Now empaths and sensitives can thrive in any environment
If you are someone who struggles personally and professionally around negative and toxic people and environments, then you are going to love this video. For those of us who are sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others, life is often more difficult than it needs to be. You can spend more time and energy running away from things rather than moving towards your joy and happiness.
In this video you will learn about a little know concept from brain science that will explain what causes your sensitivity. In understanding its cause you will be able to transform your life from surviving to thriving. This video will show you how you can turn your sensitivity and empathy into a gift. A gift that will not only transform your life but allow you to thrive and fulfil your purpose in the world.
Does your sensitivity cause you to struggle personally and professionally? Are you someone who finds that negative people and environments wear you down? Do you feel you want to run and hide from the world because it can get too much at times?
Well the good news is, this video is going to show you how you can turn your sensitivity and empathy into a gift. A gift that will not only transform your life but allow you to thrive and fulfil your purpose in the world. All through understanding a little known concept from brain science.
Let’s now discuss this concept and show you how you can use it to go from surviving to thriving.
Within the field of neuroscience there is a concept called mirror neurons.
Mirror neurons were first discovered in 1995 by accident. A group of researchers in Italy were monitoring the neural activity in the brains of monkeys.
One day the researchers noticed that when the monkey’s observed a researcher’s action; it sparked the same neural activity in the monkey’s brain, as if the monkey had performed the action themselves.
Mirror neurons are activated when the neural state of the observers brain matches that of the person performing the action. Thus, the thinking and actions in one person directly influencers the thinking and actions in another.
Further research discovered that when one person sees another person expressing an emotion, it activates the same areas of the brain associated with that emotion in the observer. Making emotions transmittable.
In one study, one group of volunteers inhaled a disgusting smell. Another group watched a video of someone smelling something and expressing disgust.
Researchers noticed that volunteers, regardless of whether they were the participant or the observer, produced neural activity in the brain's area associated with feelings of disgust.
Seeing the look of anger or joy on other people’s faces causes mirror neurons to trigger similar thoughts and emotions in you. If you think back to a situation where you were around someone who was happy, you felt happy. Conversely, if you were in the company of someone who is depressed, you felt depressed.
Horror movie producers use this concept well. They know that seeing someone else look frightened makes you feel scared as well. Mirror neurons assist movie makers to create emotions in their audiences.
Mirror neurons highlight how easily we are influenced by other people’s thoughts, feelings and actions.
But how does this relate to sensitive people and empaths. I believe that sensitive people and empaths have a higher level of activity in their mirror neurons than the average person. This in turn means they more easily mirror other peoples thoughts and feelings. This is also why you will find that sensitive people and empaths are usually highly intuitive.
Now the good news is mirror neurons are a two way street. Just as you you can catch other peoples thoughts and feelings they can catch yours. Being an empath myself I have personally found that my ability to influence other peoples thinking and feelings is extremely high. However this only happens when I stay focused on holding a positive vision for others. If I don’t then I find myself overwhelmed by others peoples fears and negativity. Unfortunately this can happen to such an extent I can often find myself becoming someone I am not. I can literally take on other people’s fears, thoughts and actions and make them my own.
However, if I can stay firm and focused on holding a positive vision of others then it not only transforms their life but mine as well. I no longer have to contend with other peoples fear based thinking. This is because my thoughts and emotions have replaced theirs.
Let me give you an example.
Some years ago whilst working for a major bank in Australia I developed a 3 day mindset sales training program. The training was renown for consistently tripling the sales results of the people attending the program. Although I did not realise it at the time the key technique I used to achieve these results, was holding a vision of the participants achieving extraordinary sales results. For some reason I just intuitively knew to do this.
During the first one and a half days of the training program the participants would argue and complain that what I was saying was a complete load of rubbish. They were extremely harsh in their criticism of me and what I was teaching.
However I did not buy into their fears and limiting beliefs. I just ignored their comments and kept on holding my vision. Then about half way through the program, they would stop arguing and get excited about the possibilities of what they could accomplish. The timing for every group of participant's between being actively militant against the teachings to when they came on board was always had the same, half way through the program.
How did I know it was my technique of holding the vision and not the training itself that got the results? When I was leaving the company, they paid a consultant to document the training so it could be replicated after I left. At the end of the third day, the consultant approached me and said it was impossible to document how I conducted the training. There did not appear to be any rhyme or reason to my facilitation strategies. They did not know how I was getting the results. It was some years later when I started studying neuroscience that I discovered the secret to the exceptional results was a result of mirror neurons.
Here is a simple step by step process of how to use the technique.
- Make a list of all the people and situations where you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by negativity.
- Choose one to focus on.
- Decide what is the highest vision you could hold for the other person. For example lets say your spouse or boss tends to be highly negative or critical. Instead of taking on their thoughts and feelings you could hold a vision of them being positive and supportive in their words and actions.
- Do not let go of this vision no matter what. This initially is the hardest part. Just as I had to totally ignore the negative comments of the participants in the first half of the 3 day sales training program. Eventually other people will catch your mirror neurons if you hold strong to your vision.
You can also use this technique which I call holding a vision for others until they can hold it for themselves to assist others to realise their true potential.
Parents, teachers and leaders will find this technique particularly powerful. I have successfully taught this technique to primary school teachers with remarkable results. One teacher who taught intellectually disabled students used it to get her students to out perform mainstream students in basic maths and spelling.
The success of this technique will depend on how well you can hold your visions until the other person changes their thoughts and feelings. To help with this I have created a short guided visualisation which will allow you to practise beforehand holding the vision. This way when you are with the other person it will be much easier for you to stay strong in your vision until the other person starts mirroring this back to you.
You can find this guided visualisation on my sister YouTube channel Jule Fuller- The Enlightened Mind. using the following link.
So now it is over to you. If you are an Empath or have a sensitive personality no longer do you have to hide yourself and your gifts from the world. Your intuitive and empathic nature is needed now more than ever. No longer do you have to waste energy trying to survive in a once harsh world. But instead thrive and make the difference in the world you were destined to make.
