Coming soon: An HSP community

Creating a new online platform where Highly Sensitive People can come together to make deep connections and help each other to thrive.

Welcome to my weekly newsletter building a supportive community for Highly Sensitive People (HSPs).

When I launched The HSP Revolution back in November, it was all about creating deeper connections. I’d worked with so many Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) who’d struggled with a sense of isolation or loneliness — and wondered whether anyone else saw the world in quite the same way. My goal was to create a hub to help people gain new insights into the joys and challenges of high sensitivity — and take empowered action to share their gifts with the world.

I’ve been delighted with the response so far, and reading the comments has become a highlight of my week. And I’ve been wondering about how to channel all this excitement and energy into a more interactive community, where people can connect, share and learn from one another at an even deeper level.

Back in May, I wrote about some of the questions I was sitting with around how to take all this forward.

Over the summer, I’ve been discovering some answers — and I’m excited about the plan that’s taking shape.

Mighty Networks

Looking for tips on building online communities, I stumbled across the work of Gina Bianchini, CEO and founder of the community-building platform Mighty Networks, and immediately fell in love with her vision.

When I listen to her speak, I sense that her mission is coming from a deeply-felt, heart-centred place. It’s her life purpose to help establish as many communities on the planet as possible — because finding a sense of belonging is the surest way we can evolve, grow and become who we’re really meant to be.

And Gina helped me think about social media in a new way.

I’d increasingly noticed how stressful I was finding platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Though I could see their value for discovering new ideas or people, I was feeling myself tense up slightly each time I opened them.

As Gina points out in this recent podcast, so much of what happens on most social media is about somebody pushing content at you — so no wonder it can often feel a little uncomfortable. You get to “like” or comment back. But fundamentally, the experience on most social platforms can feel like a form of consumption rather than a reciprocal exchange.

Gina’s vision with Mighty Networks is different. The focus is not solely on creating high quality content — but connection — how do we find like-minded people, create a culture we love, and unite behind a shared purpose. Here’s Gina on the podcast:

“To me [social media] is not a community. And the reason is that social media is built for me to talk out at you, you to potentially talk back at me, and nobody necessarily connecting or talking to each other.”

She goes on to describe what a real community feels like:

“People coming together in a place where they can be themselves. No shame. To realize their full potential and ultimately achieve the results and transformation they want to have in their lives….A community sits at the center of how we go through life together.”

And I loved this part too:

“Instead of following more and more people that we are never going to speak with, it’s building communities and cultures where we can have real relationships with other human beings on our same path, who share our goals.”  

Finding our voice

After years of feeling misunderstood, labelled and judged, so many of the HSPs I’ve worked with had understandably lost the confidence to share the richness and depth of their inner lives. In a supportive community of like-minded people, it’s so much easier for us to rediscover who we really are — and begin to bring more of our authentic self out into the world.

(Knowing how much of a struggle it can be for many HSPs to speak in front of others, I can guarantee there’ll never be any pressure to speak or share in the community: Listening and observing in true HSP fashion are just fine).

I’m now focused on gaining a better understanding of the Mighty Networks platform so I can launch a community that will make everyone feel at home, supported and seen.

I’m very excited at the prospect of launching in mid-October, and I’ll be sending details on how to join — and some other community-building gatherings — before then.

I very much hope to see you there!

See you next week