There are weeks, months, and years where we find ourselves more “tuned in” to the feelings of others. And this sounds like a good thing, right? Sometimes this kind of sensitivity is like having a radio station blaring while navigating rush hour traffic in an unfamiliar city. It’s harder to get where you need to go. Which in this case, is being a human who respects the boundaries between self and the other. Being a human who can actually connect with the other. Let me give you five examples of what it can look like to be too tuned in to others.
Maybe your spouse has a weird look on their face before they leave in the morning. Maybe you are staring a little too closely at your boss’s expressions in a work meeting, wondering whether she agrees with everything you say. Most humans can read facial expressions before they can walk or talk, so this skill is hardly a deficit. But sometimes that data gets run through the main character matrix of our brain, which interprets that all facial expressions have something to do with us, or must be our responsibility. ... Keep reading with a 7-day free trialSubscribe to The Anxious Overachiever to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives. A subscription gets you:
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