This week on Honestly, Dear Listener, we take a deep dive into the artist’s superpower: sensitivity. We discuss our personal struggles with criticism and the delicate balance of caring about others’ opinions while protecting our creative spirit. We also talk about how our sensitivity is like a knob that we can turn up and down depending on the situation and that, by strengthening that muscle, we give ourselves many more options than we originally thought we had.

We also discuss the New York City subway system and how it’s both confusing and charming.

Resources:

• The Best of Me - book by David Sedaris

• Signs of a Psychopath - television show on MAX (formerly HBO)

• Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear - book by Elizabeth Gilbert

• The Highly Sensitive Person - book by Dr. Elaine Aron

  • Are You Highly Sensitive Self test

TIMECODES

0:00 Intro
0:33 No Period Club
3:00 Train story
10:57 We need to be around people
12:34 Everybody’s a baby
15:48 Sensitivity
18:27 Sensitivity and patriarchy
21:12 How sensitivity is great
26:52 Empathy/Treasure hunt
31:15 Turning down our sensitivity knob
47:10 Guarding/protecting our sensitivity
49:47 The mountain Carrie’s willing to die on