The Mirror Question: Learn From Every Experience (So You Can Move On)
Linda BinnsWhen “high standards” become high stress When you’re highly sensitive, you often notice what other people miss—tone, timing, energy, micro-shifts in behavior. Many sensitive, empathic professionals also have strong personal expectations and perfectionist tendencies. That combination can create a specific kind of frustration at work: • someone says they’ll do something…and doesn’t • a client changes their mind repeatedly • a coworker takes credit, avoids responsibility, or delays • a manager expects excellence but tolerates dysfunction At first, the emotional response is understandable: anger, disappointment, exhaustion. Over time, frustration can harden into a belief: “I can only rely on myself.” That belief can look like competence. But energetically, it often becomes survival mode—over-functioning, resentment, and emotional withdrawal. If your nervous system gets activated during these moments—tight chest, racing mind, breath is fast and shallow—nothing is “wrong” with you. It’s simply information. The pattern that follows you (until it doesn’t) Here’s what I’ve seen again and again: You can change jobs, teams, clients, even industries… and still meet a similar “difficult person” or “impossible situation.” Not because you’re unlucky. Because life tends to repeat the lesson until you learn what it came to teach. This is where a simple shift becomes powerful.
