Transcriber: Jeesun Youn Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
Thank you.
So ...
Yesterday night, I was standing in the apartment of my good friend Nuriel,
who also had to talk today,
and then, we rehearsed my speech.
It went horribly.
Huge crowds, bright lights and a lot of energies really freak me out.
So as you can imagine, this is not my natural habitat.
But I'm really, really happy to be here today
even after I tried to weasel out my way not to be on the stage today.
Because I have something to say, and what I have to say is important.
I am Laura, I'm a designer, art director,
but first and foremost, a highly sensitive person.
So what does it mean to be highly sensitive?
Of course, all of us are sensitive.
We all experience bad moods or go through breakups and so on.
But for me, as a highly sensitive person,
it's that, just ten times harder.
Highly sensitive people are persons - women and men equally -
with a genetic trait that is inherited
and that processes sensory information differently.
Everything we hear, touch, smell, feel
affects us every day in our lives.
Let's start with my story.
As a kid, I always was called shy, anxious, neurotic,
up to dramatic, cold and what not.
I was a very, as you say, shy kid
and always asked to get my act together or toughen up.
So when I asked my mom to describe me as a kid,
she said, "You know what, honey?
You've always been a quiet kid but also a bit weird."
(Laughter)
So, that's me yesterday - no I'm kidding.
In kindergarten, you would always find me in the last corner,
with tons of papers and pencils and drawing for hours and hours,
not really talking to other kids or people
but creating my little bubble, which protected me from the outside world,
which was so overwhelming back then like it is today.
The only thing is, today,
I learnt to embrace it and spread my arms even wider
for something that cannot be altered by force
and is my superpower, equals the high sensitivity.
And today I want to share with you how all of us can embrace sensitivity,
not just within us,
but our friends and people next to us and our family,
so we can create an environment which is nurturing even more for both sides.
So let's start with this: embrace your empathy.
So, empathy is the ability to feel feelings of other people
and to feel moods.
Highly sensitive people can get super affected by the moods of other people,
so hard that we get sad when other people are sad,
that we get super excited when other people are super excited.
But also, it makes us tired,
and it makes us not "weak" but exhausted.
That's why downtime is crucial.
To get enough time on your own, especially in a very fuzzy environment,
you have to take this time and allow yourself to rest.
Me, for example, I sleep 10 to 12 hours every day.
You may think that's crazy,
and I would say it's beautiful.
I love sleeping and it's totally fine.
When I first started my company, back when I was 20,
I was super, of course, overwhelmed, as you can tell right now,
but also very unsure if it's the right thing I did
and how I do these things,
I had no idea how to build up my studio or finances,
I mean, come on, Who knows that by 20?
But I quickly learned that it makes no sense
in running after something I will never achieve,
which is not to be so sensitive.
So I looked at my work schedule and decided I have to work on my own pace.
I created another bubble
or maybe just extended the little bubble I lived in,
which is now my atelier.
It is my apartment as well as it's my studio,
where I work, where I sleep, where I eat,
where I have friends, where I have clients, and everyone.
But -
Also, this has to be -
See? That happens when you are overwhelmed.
(Laughter)
You have to care about your apartment and your bubble
as much as you care about yourself.
Because the energies you let it will come out and affect you again.
But why can HSPs make good leaders?
And maybe you feel touched right now
and maybe you see similarities in yourself right now,
but I can tell you it's good because we notice everything.
For me, reading books can become terribly hard.
In a room which is silent, I can literally hear the dust fall.
So I have to listen to music while I read books or work
because otherwise I will get crazy.
I have to have a room where I can withdraw,
I have to have a good crew of people around myself with good energies
so I don't get miserable.
And this also concerns my clients.
So I try to meet every client before we work with
and try to get to know them so I get their energies.
And if I have a bad feeling about my clients after my meeting,
and I leave and I'm like, "I don't know, something's off."
I'm not taking their offer.
Because I learnt the hard way
that trying to achieve something that just isn't meant to work out,
just breaks you inside,
especially if you are super sensitive.
So allow yourself that rest,
either if it's sleeping, again, or traveling or going out.
Because here's the fact:
not every highly sensitive person is an introvert.
Actually, 30% of HSPs, which make -
So all HSPs are -
1.4 million people in the world are highly sensitive
but 30% of them are extroverts.
And something in between, I guess.
Because I love going out, I love talking to people,
but I'm also very anxious sometimes.
Let's imagine a world where being highly sensitive is welcomed,
where you not have to toss them up or act super hard and inferior
in front of your clients or your family or your friends,
but where it is natural to nurture each other
and be kind and understanding.
My wish here is that someday,
we're going teach kids in school about their traits so they can embrace it,
to be sensitive,
and not feel as damaged as I did as a kid.
Because I am highly sensitive, and this is my superpower.
Thank you.
(Applause)