Is Sensitivity an Advantage?敏感到底是优点还是缺点？

All the time the message sensitive people get isn’t to celebrate who they are. It’s that they should “overcome” their sensitivity and “toughen up”. Putting aside that this approach doesn’t work， it’s wrongheaded. Sensitivity is largely genetic， and not something you can turn off. It is a trait related to giftedness and something we should accept with pleasure. In fact， according to three decades of research， it’s not only a healthy trait， but it also serves as a powerful advantage.

As a personality trait， being sensitive means you take in more information from your environment， and you do more with it. Sensitive people are wired at a brain level to process information more deeply than others do. That includes sensory input， emotional input， and ideas. If you’re sensitive， this deep processing changes the way you see the world. You probably notice what others miss， think， and feel deeply， and have a vivid inner life.

The most well-known and celebrated sensitive gift is creativity. Sensitive people tend to be highly creative， and many—perhaps most—artists， musicians， and actors are themselves sensitive people. Many of our greatest scientists throughout history have been sensitive people， including Charles Darwin. Sensitive people have this capacity for creation because they tend to be deep thinkers who spend more time and energy turning problems over in their heads—and end up seeing more possibilities and solutions.

一直以来，敏感的人得到的信息并不是庆祝自己是个敏感的人，而是应该“克服”自己的敏感，“坚强起来”。撇开这种方法行不通不说，这种做法也是错误的。敏感在很大程度上是遗传的，无法去除。它是一种与天赋有关的特质，我们应该欣然接受。事实上，根据三十年的研究，敏感不仅是一种健康的特质，而且还是一种强大的优势。

作为一种人格特质，敏感意味着你能从周围环境中获取更多信息，并利用这些信息做更多事情。敏感的人的大脑比其他人能更深入地处理包括感觉、情绪和想法等信息。如果你是敏感的人，这种深入处理信息的能力会改变你看待世界的方式。你可能会注意到别人想念的、思考的和深切感受的东西，并拥有丰富的内心世界。

最为人所知且备受赞誉的敏感天赋是创造力。敏感的人往往具有极高的创造力，许多也许是大多数艺术家、音乐家和演员本身就是敏感的人。历史上许多最伟大的科学家都是敏感的人，包括查尔斯·达尔文。敏感的人之所以具有这种创造力，是因为他们往往是深思熟虑的人，会花更多的时间和精力思考问题，最终看到更多的可能性和解决方案。

Another strength sensitive people have is their decision-making ability. This decision-making ability may give sensitive people an evolutionary advantage. In a 2008 computer simulation of natural selection， creatures who spent more resources considering their options and comparing them with past results， as sensitive people do， came out ahead in the long run compared with less-sensitive creatures. They gradually got more resources over time and out-survived others. In the wilderness， that might mean tracking down game when everyone is hungry. In the meeting room， it means guiding the company towards the top of their industry.

Sensitive people do pay a price for these gifts， however， by becoming overstimulated. Overstimulation is what happens when there is simply too much information for the brain to keep going deep. But sensitive people can learn to largely prevent it—particularly by building time into each day to simply let the mind process and “catch up”.

So， if you’re a sensitive person， stop hiding from your sensitivity. Accept it with pleasure， and show it to the world.

敏感的人的另一优势是他们的决策能力。这种决策能力可能会给敏感的人带来进化优势。在2008年的一项有关自然选择的计算机模拟中，那些像敏感的人那样花费更多资源考虑自己的选择，并将其与过去的结果进行比较的生物，与不太敏感的生物相比，从长远来看更有优势。随着时间的推移，它们逐渐获得了更多的资源，比其他生物活得更久。在野外，这可能意味着它在大家都饥饿的时候去追踪猎物。在会议室里，这意味着引领公司走向行业巅峰。

然而，敏感的人的确为这些天赋付出了代价，那就是反应过度。反应过度发生在信息量过多，大脑无法深入思考时。但是，敏感的人可以学会最大限度地避免反应过度，特别是通过每天抽出一些时间，让大脑处理和加工信息，“回到正轨”。

所以，如果你是一个敏感的人，就不要再躲避你的敏感了。愉快地接受它，并将它展现给全世界。

Word Bank

genetic /dʒə'netɪk/ adj. 基因的；遗传学的

trait /treɪt/ n. （人的个性的）特征，特性

capacity /kə'pæsəti/ n. 领悟（或理解、办事）能力

game /ɡeɪm/ n. 猎物；野禽

These are the men who shot game for food.