Happy Friday, everyone! Anyone here identify as an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person)? We first heard of this personality trait (you know how much we love reading about personalities around here!) when we read Wired To Create back in 2016. In the book, they briefly discuss how many creative minds also come with the personality trait of being highly sensitive, which helps them in their work. I hadn’t identified with something so strongly since discovering my personality type on Meyers-Briggs. You wouldn’t think something as simple as being highly sensitive would fall into the category of career + creativity inspired, but it plays a pretty big role in how you chase those dreams.
Of course, after talking to Jenn, I was pretty sure she is highly sensitive, too, so we both ordered The Highly Sensitive Person, by Elaine Aron, who literally wrote the book on this trait–it’s because of her dedication to researching sensitivity that we can even recognize it as a personality trait (and not some sort of hindrance) today! Long story short, it’s an incredible book that helps you harness a trait that’s so often seen as a weakness to make an impact in your career and life. From there, we decided to round up other career + creativity inspired books to encourage us this year. Even if they’re not all how-to guides for the perfect career, I think we can all learn a lot from the authors below!
1. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Dr. Elaine Aron
2. Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness by Ingrid Fetell Lee
3. Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis
4. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown
5. Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose by Jean Case
6. The Year of the Introvert: A Journal of Daily Inspiration for the Inwardly Inclined by Michaela Chung
7. Becoming by Michelle Obama
8. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
9. Juliet’s School of Possibilities: A Little Story About the Power of Priorities by Laura Vanderkam
A few of these are out already and the others are linked to for pre-order on Amazon. Have you picked up any of these books so far? I’ve heard great things about Joyful.