I call it emotional leadership because sensitive people often feel things before other people do like maybe a little cry first or they'll get afraid first to get angry first.

And generally that's what everybody ought to be feeling but they haven't figured it out yet.

Not always but that's often true.

So what if being highly sensitive was actually a superpower and not something to be fixed?

Well if you've ever heard the term highly sensitive person or maybe been called highly sensitive and maybe even recoil a bit when that happened.

Our conversation with today's guest Dr. Lane Aaron it just might change your mind and even your world.

An acclaimed researcher she first identified high sensitivity as this distinct character trait more than 25 years ago introducing the term highly sensitive person to describe someone who is easily overwhelmed by

strong sensory input subtleties and environment and other people's moods someone who processes things in different ways and at different speeds and deeply feels pressure and over stimulation.

And since its publication in 1995 her preeminent book on the subject the highly sensitive person has gone on to become an international bestseller translated into 30 languages.

She's also the author of the highly sensitive parent and many others and she has established the foundation for the study of a highly sensitive person and published many scientific articles on sensitivity and leading journals in her field and it turns out today's conversation was also personal because in many ways I've begun to realize that I actually identify as a highly sensitive person.

But I also discovered so much more about the way that I move through the world how this trait relates to things like introversion and extroversion very surprising and how you can be both highly sensitive while also being high sensation which I had never heard of before and we also discover how Elaine's lens on high sensitivity has really evolved in major and meaningful ways since her groundbreaking early research on the topic.

So excited to share this best of conversation with you. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is Good Life Project.

So you know it's funny I was I was first exposed to your work probably the way a lot of people was which is Susan Kane is actually an old friend of mine.

Oh, so when she wrote the book Quiet I sort of had an enrode into your work and both her book and your work I just kept reading more and thinking to myself I'm seeing so much of myself in all of this work and it is so explanatory and forgiving on so many different levels.

Yes, I've been actually looking forward to having this conversation for an over years now.

Good. Good.

And then recently just I don't know how I missed this that you've actually been collaborating with your husband for I guess decades now.

Yes.

In really related work and you know I stumbled upon his work I think when a lot of people saw the the piece in modern love in the New York Times.

Yes.

Yes. The 36 questions that just went crazy just viral and people wanted to you know to get a copy ride in the right books and everything.

And we said no let it just let the people have it and I've got over sitting over here I'm about to send it to somebody in Israel we've got the Hebrew version.

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