Become Sensitive

The benefit of internal sensitivity in response to self-discipline.

Internal Sensitivity

The more you prioritize physical fitness, the more you will feel the effects of inactivity.

The more considerate you are of nutrition, the more sensitive you will become to low quality foods that don’t agree with you.

The more you have your sleep schedule dialed in, the more sensitive you will be to disruptions in the quantity, quality, regularity, and/or timing of your sleep.

The more you go without a preferred substance or technology, the more you’ll notice the effects of those vices for better or worse.

Interoception is the sense of knowing what is going on within your body. The brain is constantly sending and receiving signals from inside and outside of the body. These signals cause the brain to allocate resources based on its experiential prediction of what is needed to maintain function through a process called allostasis.

“Agency starts with what scientists call interoception, our awareness of our subtle sensory, body-based feelings: the greater that awareness, the greater our potential to control our lives.”

-Bessel A. van der Kolk

The more conscious you are of internal signals, the higher you are in interoception. Awareness, however, is just the first step.

Does your heart racing before a competition indicate nervousness or excitement?

Do butterflies in your stomach suggest infatuation with a love interest or the effects of bad tacos?

Is shortness of breath a result of a perceived threat or being under slept?

Senses come from the periphery.

Meaning comes from the mind.

Emotional sensitivity to external influence is a vulnerability. It’s a result of reactivity and misapplied meaning to feelings that arise in the mind and body.

Conscious sensitivity is a superpower when harnessed rationally. It makes you indifferent to stressors outside of your control. It makes you impervious to internal signals that don’t align with your current mission. It also helps to differentiate discrete changes in your condition that may need further attention.

Discomfort is different than pain.

Hot is different than overheating.

Cold is different than freezing.

Hunger is different than starving.

Physical fatigue is different than exhaustion.

Mentally tired is different than compromised.

In this article, I will lay out several methods to build the skill of interoception.

The more aware and rationally in tune you are with bodily signals, the more effectively you can perform in response to any stressor.