Category Archives: Strengths

ADHD: Acceptance and feeling worthy. Own your story.

“How well have you accepted your ADHD or that your child has Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder? Do you doubt the diagnosis or feel helpless in the face of the many challenges in your personal or family life?

ADHD is NO ONE’S fault, but once you know about it, it is your RESPONSIBILITY. You and/or your child deserve to handle everyday life without undue stress and strain. Why? Because you are WORTH it.

None of us are NORMAL. It doesn’t exist. All of us are somehow DIFFERENT. An article reporting on a Yale University study claims that all traits exist somewhere along a spectrum, “…Nobody is Normal. This complicates matters for medical professionals, but a moderate to high degree of impairment determines whether the criteria for a diagnosis is met. Since an evaluation for ADHD requires that impairment be present in two or more settings, some type of intervention is indicated and could be of great value. Choosing to medicate and/or develop an ADHD friendly environment and a “bag of strategies and tricks” helps to “level the playing field.” Get to know your strengths, the ways that ADHD impacts your life, and develop a few ways to DO something about it!

I began to think about the power of self-acceptance and feeling worthy after watching “Take your Pills” on NetFlix. Once again, the ADHD community has come under attack by the popular media. The latest volley is in the guise of a documentary.

Jessica McCabe of the How to ADD YouTube channel reviews this attack and expresses her feelings well. “Controversy sells, and the media knows it. So a lot of what we see, read, and hear about ADHD and ADHD treatment either misrepresents the facts or is flat-out meant to scare us.” Jessica offers a more balanced perspective with science-backed information on ADHD, the value of medication and other strategies proven effective for treating ADHD. You’ll find her video near the end of the newsletter.

I was confused and disturbed by comments made by a few people interviewed for the program. Although most were diagnosed with ADHD, many didn’t really “own” their ADHD or take it seriously. Even while indicating a positive response to medication, some seemed to feel like they were somehow cheating by using it, and further, resented needing any intervention at all. Like too many of us with the disorder, they also questioned the necessity of dealing with their ADHD, believing that they SHOULD be able to do it all on their own by “just focusing” and “powering through.”

So many of us just don’t know enough to name the unique ways our own ADHD is expressed. We also don’t realize or track the benefits of medication or other strategies to create better coping skills. For help with this, see Response to Treatment Rating Scales on this site.

WHY do we have such denial? We struggle to accept help and develop twisted stories about ourselves. I feel this re-written history lies in not accepting ourselves, misunderstanding what ADHD is and is not, and not feeling that we are “worthy” of asking for help or support.

Happily, some people in the documentary accept their ADHD and appreciated the benefits of being appropriately medicated. Like those of us actively addressing their symptoms, they also talk about using proven treatments like basic self-care, coaching, therapy, and other ways to bolster executive functions and control their emotions. Realizing what “turned on” their interest-driven nervous system, they felt better able to cope with their weakness and harness the power of their strengths and values. You’ll find a number of tools to help with this in Self Advocacy for ADHD: Know yourself.

But, “so many of us feel unworthy. We feel that we’re not good enough, we don’t fit in, and we don’t matter. We’re overly self-critical, fixating on our flaws and failures. We think we need to be perfect and successful in order to have value.” ~ Sharon Martin, LCSW. This feeling is not specific to ADHD by any means. It is a universal plague on most of humankind. Martin writes about dealing with these destructive feelings in 5 Ways We Compromise Our Self-Worth and How to Rebuild It.

When you believe in your own worth and are willing to seek outside intervention to improve your life, ADHD need not be a barrier to success. You CAN find greater happiness in your life through knowledge, true acceptance of the disorder, practicing empathy in how we speak and behave towards your child or self, and seeking help. Don’t try to do it all alone!

ADHD Living has a wonderful article on the importance of outside support. “If ADHD is your challenge, support is a must. ADHD is a major mental health concern that can greatly impact your life and the lives of others around you. It deserves a certain level of time and attention paid to it.” According to Dr. Ned Hallowell, M.D., connection with others reinforces our feelings of worth and reassures us that we are NOT alone. People who care about our well-being can provide invaluable advice. I was lucky enough to have an ADHD support group in my own town, but you can find lots of ideas for finding support here. Other means of support are ADHD coaches and Coaching groups.

Feelings of unworthiness and non-acceptance of yourself confuse the issue of treatment and compound the problems inherent in ADHD’s impact on our lives. I found four new articles this month that expand on this theme. They offer valuable help for anyone interested in looking at ADHD in a new light and in learning about adjustments they can take to improve their mental health. My thanks to these three writers who have so graciously shared their work.

Liz Lewis of A Dose of Healthy Distraction provided 5 Lies I Tell Myself about Having ADHD. I’m sure you’ll recognize many of these rationalizations from your own story.

Ann Doyle has just begun to write about ADHD in Small Town Wife. You’ll find some great tips in her Parenting ADHD: 7 Steps for the Newly Diagnosed.

Freya Cheffers of Never a Dull Moment – Life and ADHD on Facebook shares two articles this month. Both offer a refreshing view of ADHD, outlining many positives of people with ADHD without ignoring their very real challenges in a neurotypical world. According to the author of the aforementioned study from Yale on no one REALLY being “normal,” “There’s a level of variability in every one of our behaviors,” and “no behavior is solely negative or solely positive. There are potential benefits for both, depending on the context you’re placed in.”

Freya lists a number of positives about ADHD in 10 Things I Love about People with ADHD. See if you agree with her opinion.

When Cheya’s son asked her about what kind of future he could expect, she shared her own story. She attributed her own experiences and accomplishments DIRECTLY to thinking and acting in ways that suited her NATURAL ways of learning and being. See Mum, Do You Think I have a Bleak Future? to listen in on this reassuring conversation.

Videos

We have one short video this month on validation and Jessica’s review of “Take your Pills” mentioned earlier. I link to another 1-minute video from ADDitudeMag and also include a 2 ½-minute classic just for fun.

Finding Happiness in Neurodiversity with Shawn Smith, Me.D., CCC, founder and consultant of Don’t dis-my-ability. (One-minute preview.)

“We often feel that validation comes from people liking us. But that’s not true…It comes from within. You’re not going to gain acceptance from other people because that means you’re trying to be something that you are not.” * For the complete interview and transcription, the podcast is on Different Brains.com.

Why I’m Upset at Netflix’s New Documentary “Take Your Pills“ (9 ½ minutes) with Jessica McCabe of the YouTube channel How to ADHD

Your Unique ADHD Brain Chemistry – Produced by ADDitudeMag, this is a 1-minute video on the ADHD interest-driven nervous system, as proposed by Dr. William Dodson.

Sh*t no one with ADHD says 2 ½-minutes) from TotallyADD
This tongue-in-cheek video was unfairly flagged for bad language, so take the time watch it and help keep it on YouTube. (Editor’s note: After 20 years of working on my foibles, these situations no longer apply to me – at least not very often.)

I’ll close with a mantra from Sharon Stone to help rebuild your feelings of self-worth.

“My self-worth doesn’t depend on being liked or being perfect. I can choose to accept myself and live knowing I’m just as worthy as everyone else. We’re all different, of course, but there doesn’t have to be any judgment or comparison.
Today I will rebuild my self-worth by… “

Thanks for your attention. If you find help or reassurance here, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Joan Jager

(Image courtesy of adamr/FreeDigitalPhoto.net) Modified on Canva.com

PARENTING THE CHILD WITH ADHD: Mum, Do You Think I Have a Bleak Future?

Guest post by Freya Cheffers from
Never a Dull Moment – Life and ADHD

In the car this morning, my son Jasper, who has ADHD, said to me, “Mum, do you think I have a bleak future ahead?”

I took a deep breath, pushed my emotions aside and said this to my boy, “Honey you have the brightest, shiniest future ahead. Just because you don’t do school that well does not mean you’re going to have a bad time for the rest of your life. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.”

He then asked, “How do you know?”

I answered, “Because I was a lot like you at school. I found classes so boring. I couldn’t understand what the teacher was saying. I never got A’s and was always in trouble. I even hated art class! Because I couldn’t learn art the way they taught it to me!”

Jas listened, a surprised look on his face. I continued while I had his attention.

“As soon as I left school I didn’t look back. I went to TAFE (Australia’s Vocational and Training Schools) and did a course in hospitality. TAFE was so fun, so much better than school, and there I met my best friend Tam who I moved to Sydney with. We worked in restaurants and met people from all over the world, danced with new friends on beaches in Bondi at moonlight and became inspired to see more of the world. I saved up enough money and left Australia and went traveling through Asia on my own! Imagine that! I was 19!!! Tam went to Israel and Egypt. We met up in London, worked, partied and traveled more countries together.

I came home and became a chef. I started my own catering business, I ran restaurants.

I learned to paint and had 2 near sellout exhibitions with friends. I hated art at school but loved learning by painting with friends and looking through art books for inspiration.

I’ve opened shops, gone into fashion design, imported from Morocco and lived in Bali.

And my biggest achievement, I created you and your little brother!

I have my ADHD to thank for most of that and not once have I ever looked back and thought about school.”

Jas asked, “How come you have your ADHD to thank?”

I responded, “I just know because I do life differently to others that are considered ‘normal’. My impulsivity leads me into new adventures. I learn kinesthetically and have a creative brain. I think outside of the box – just like you do. All of this, plus a large amount of excitable energy, has helped me be who I am today, even though I didn’t fit into the school system.

So to answer your question – you have a very bright future ahead, full of fun and adventure. No matter if you go college, TAFE, get a trade or a degree, or take some time out to go travelling. Life is one big adventure and you just have to find things you enjoy doing along the way, get good at those things, try new things, give everything and anything a go and you’ll be absolutely ok! Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

Jasper agreed, and said, “I definitely want to go traveling mum!” And I said, “You will for sure, just find work that helps you to travel!”

And I could see him thinking about his shiny future ahead, and I had a feeling that he had a feeling, everything is going to be ok.

About the author: Freya Cheffers lives in Cowaramup, Western Australia. She writes about her family and ADHD on her Facebook page, Never a Dull Moment – Life with ADHD. I follow her posts with interest.

Originally published at https://www.facebook.com/988236491253412/photos/a.1174257099318016.1073741829.988236491253412/1641036945973360/?type=3&theater

Found on http://thrivingwithadhd.com.au/blog/mum-do-i-have-a-bleak-future/

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10 Things I Love about People with ADHD

Guest post by Freya Cheffers of
Never a Dull Moment – Life and ADHD

1. ADHD people are Hilarious! Our conversations are never dull. Our sense of humor comes from a wicked way of looking at the world. We don’t have much of a filter on our thoughts and often blurt out the first thing that pops into our mind, usually completely inappropriate and making those around us laugh out loud.

2. We get over things quickly. If you’re arguing with one of us don’t bother trying to win the argument, just walk away and guaranteed we’ll see something shiny and forget what we were arguing about in the first place.

3. We’re loyal friends and will defend our friends till the end of the earth and fight against injustice brought to them in any way.

4. We are very forgiving. That’s because we do the dumbest shit of all. It’s very easy to forgive when you’re not perfect.

5. We are sooo much fun to party with! It’s almost guaranteed that the first person on the dance floor or up on a table at a party has a bit of ADHD in them! ‘Where DOES she get her ENERGY from?’

6. We are spontaneous risk takers and tend to throw ourselves into things others wouldn’t dream of doing. Once that thought pops into the mind to do that thing there is no stopping that ADHD person from doing that very un-thought out and dangerous thing. (Unless something else shiny catches our eye.)

7. We work really well under pressure! A lot of chefs have ADHD. – Not many people can cope that well with cooking 150 meals in a night while supervisors scream at you to hurry up.

8. We can hyper focus on things that we enjoy. (Much to other’s bemusement when we can’t snap out of a project we are fully immersed in.) We can move mountains with our hyper-focus superpowers!

9. We have creative brains and think outside of the box! So many people with ADHD are musicians, artists, poets, actors, writers, chefs and very successful entrepreneurs who simply cannot work for other people. You won’t find many ADHD people sitting still all day at a desk unless they are hyper-focusing on programming computers.

10. We LOVE LOVE! ADHD people overflow with love. Our hearts are as big as a lion. Our hugs are deep and intense. We are very affectionate and will do anything for our loved ones – give them gifts of flowers, chocolates, money, even sharing cars and our own house. They all mean the same to us. We’re not great at holding back our affections and if you don’t have ADHD and end up with an ADHD lover – enjoy the wild ride!

Originally published as

10 Reasons Why I Love ADHD People https://www.facebook.com/988236491253412/photos/a.1174257099318016.1073741829.988236491253412/1639149209495467/?type=3&theater

About the author: Freya Cheffers lives in Cowaramup, Western Australia. She has a Facebook page where she writes about her family and ADHD. She and her son share the diagnosis. I recommend following her. Find Never a Dull Moment – Life with ADHD here.

(Image courtesy of ambro /FreeDigitalPhoto.com) Modified on Canva.com

ADHD: Create your Best Life, as Unique as You Are

ADHD is complex and different for each person. There’s a saying among ADHD professionals, “If you’ve seen one case of ADHD, you’ve seen one case of ADHD.” Although there are similarities of symptoms, no two cases are the same. In the same vein, there are no simple answers to effectively treating individual cases. Types of medication and dosages vary according to personal responses.

Another common saying is, “Pills don’t teach skills.” Developing these skills and systems must also be crafted for to meet individual needs. It’s also important to note that ADHD is a chronic condition that can be managed but not cured. A number of non-medical interventions have been found to be useful.

It’s important to remember that successful treatment doesn’t mean you can correct everything that’s affecting your ability to cope. Addressing your challenges can only take you so far. At some point, you must realize that your goal is not to be “normal” but to do “enough” with what you have, warts and all.

It’s about accepting yourself and making good decisions based on what you do naturally, without the struggle. As ADHD coach David Giwerc says, “Your job is to discover the options that naturally work for you and integrate them into your daily life.”

I’m learning to accept how ADHD and bipolar disorder affect my world and develop those strategies that allow me to express myself, live without stress, AND be happy in my work. As the song goes, I did it MY way.” But all of us are uniquely ourselves and must follow our own path to happiness.

ADDulting with ADHD: Avoiding ADHD Life Hacks Overwhelm by Coach Lou Brown

We are all beautifully unique, no ‘one size fits all’ life hacks actually exist….”

“The trick is to get to know your ADHD, your likes, and dislikes as well as your strengths and challenges. And to then use this knowledge to work out which life hacks may work for you and your unique brain wiring, before giving one a go.”

Self-Advocacy for ADHD: Know Yourself (Includes tools for discovering your strengths).

Leading with your strengths rather than struggling to overcome your weakness allows you to fully express yourself in new ways. It’s about accepting yourself and making good decisions based on what you do naturally, without the struggle. Self- advocacy involves asking for help to support your own efforts.

Encouraging Self-Advocacy in Teens is also helpful and appropriate for ages eight and up and 8 Tips to Help you be your Child’s Advocate by Mary Fowler is for getting your child’s needs met at school.

All of these articles encourage you to:

Name your challenges both at home and at work.
Identify the situations when problems are most likely to show up.
Know exactly what your strengths are. Your values, talents, and skills all contribute to forming your personal strengths.
Develop strategies that reshape how you approach life.

Exactly WHAT TO DO is another matter. The next articles offer a myriad of ideas that may INDEED be overwhelming. But keep in mind that they are only lists of ideas that have worked for other people, both with and without ADHD. Instead, you MUST make these ideas work for YOU. What helps others may be useless for you.

ADHD at Home and Work: 46 Small Steps to Save Time by Coach and Organizer Sue Fay West

No big overhauls. Just tips to simplify your life. Categories include: Working with Executive Functioning Challenges, Tips For home and work as well as Finances, Time, and Self-care.

Time management: It’s a Family Affair by Cindy Goldrich, Ed.M., ACAC adds:

“Effective time management skills are essential to all adults and children. By becoming proactive in how you approach time you can make a noticeable and systemic difference in the in your life and the lives of your family members.”

Addressing your challenges can only take you so far. In “The Secrets of the ADHD Brain,” William Dodson, M.D. suggests that you write your own rules. The ADHD nervous system is activated by things or tasks that are interesting, challenging, or urgent. Rather than focus on where you fall short, you need to identify how you get into the zone. At some point, you must realize that your goal is not to be “normal” but to do “enough” with what you have, warts and all. As Ned Hallowell, M.D. recommends in ADDitude Magazine:

• Do what you’re good at.
• Don’t go it alone.
• Ask for Advice.
• Get organized “enough” to get by….”

This may seem like an awful lot to do, but it truly is worth the effort. We are all deserving of love and the best treatment available. Addressing one thing at a time goes a long way. Take the first step.

All the best for you and your family,

Joan

Featured Video:

Let Me Be Your Camera – Understanding ADHD and Executive Function What happens on a movie set when the director keeps falling asleep? (2 1/2 minutes)

Picture credits:

Title: (Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhoto.net) Modified on Canva

Self-Advocacy “Image courtesy of ponsulak/FreeDigitalPhoto.net” Modified on Canva.com

ADHD at Home and Work: 46 Small Steps to Save Time (Photo courtesy of twobee/FreeDigitalPhoto.net) Modified on Canva.com

ADDulting with ADHD: Avoiding Life Hack Overwhelm (Photo courtesy of Supertrooper/FreeDigitalPhoto.net) Modified on Canva.com

Resources:

The ADHD Brain: Unraveling the secrets of your ADD Nervous Systemby Dr. Dodson

“Seven Daily Habits to Close the “Success Gap” by Ned Hallowell

Tools for Discovering your Strengths

Self-advocacy can give you the opportunity to speak for yourself regarding your needs and help to secure the necessary support at work or school and for your personal life. We don’t have to struggle so hard. Developing self-knowledge is the first step. ADD Coach Dana Rayburn reminds us, that, “When properly treated, ADHD loses much of its power over our lives. As adults, we can paint a new picture of who we are and what we contribute to the world…” (1)

The goal is to develop your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.

Don’t go it alone, feeling you have to prove yourself over and over again that you CAN persevere! The truth is, delegating the things you aren’t good at, or just plain don’t like, is a good idea for anyone. If you have ADHD, however, it can make the difference between constant struggle and an enjoyable, successful life.

You are uniquely made and have a lot to share with the world. Don’t let self-judgment stop you from becoming all that you can be. For more about learning your strengths, building self-awareness, and developing powerful self-advocacy skills, CONTINUE READING HERE.

Thanks for signing up for the latest news. Hope you find a new appreciation for your talents and can use that awareness to make your life more rewarding.

I know this can be a difficult concept to get your head around. Let’s talk about it.

Joan Jager
ADD freeSources.net

Follow ADD freeSources on Pinterest or Facebook.

Tools for Discovering your Strengths – Introduction to Self-advocacy for ADHD: Know yourself

Be the Best Version of Yourself: Explore your Strengths

By Marla Cummins

What do you think of when trying to manage your ADHD? When starting down the path of managing their ADHD many adults, at least in the beginning, may assume they are broken.

If this is the case for you, you may focus your time and energy on trying to fix yourself. Because that is what you do when something is broken. You fix it, right?

But what if you decided you were not broken? What if instead you were able to adopt the perspective that you just operated differently? What if you decided to rely more on your strengths?

Your approach to managing your ADHD could look quite different.

Talents That Come Naturally To You

The key to managing your ADHD is to identify, build on and work in domains that utilize your strengths as much as possible, while still managing around your weaknesses when necessary.

For now let’s focus on your strengths.

One definition of strength is:

“…an innate or learned characteristic that you possess, or behavior you exhibit, that when applied consistently allows you the greatest chance of successfully reaching your goals.”

You could also say that strengths are talents that come naturally and easily to you – you do not have to work so hard to express them.

You may even possess strengths that you utilize in one area of your life that you do not yet realize can be applied to help you in other areas. It is also possible that there are things that come easy to you that you do not even realize are your strengths!

The trick, of course, is to identify these assets and examine how you can use them to help you accomplish your current goal(s).

Identifying Your Strengths

You are probably intimately familiar with your weaknesses. If you are like many other adults with ADHD, you may focus an inordinate amount of time and energy on patching up your weaknesses.

Try putting away your “sewing kit” for a bit and pick up your “weights.” I hope you will take the time now to focus on ways to identify your strengths. The ideas below can help get you started.

Reflection

Before looking outside yourself try this exercise. You may be surprised by what you find.

You can answer these questions in one sitting, or you may take a couple of weeks as you observe yourself in action. No doubt, reflection takes longer than answering questions on an assessment. However, taking more time may uncover hidden strengths that a quick assessment may not reveal.

To start with the most obvious, what are your strengths? This is not the time to be modest!

What activities capture your attention and keep you consistently engaged? Often the activities that we get excited about participating in are those that use our strengths. What are the strengths related to these activities?

What types of tasks do you learn and understand quickly, and which are challenges you approach with a sense of joy? If you are a “natural” at something, there may be a strength related to the skills required by the activity. What are your strengths related to these tasks?

What are you passionate about? How are your strengths related to your passions?

Under what conditions and in what environment do you work best? When these conditions are present and you are in this environment, what strengths do you notice?

What are the strengths you can use most directly related to achieving your goals?

If you are not able to complete this exercise on your own, ask one of your “fans,” such as a friend or family member, to help you. Who would you ask? If you have someone in mind, ask him or her to help.

After reflecting on your strengths, you may be curious enough to go beyond these questions in order to learn more about your strengths.

ADHD Strengths

It is also important to remember that your ADHD symptoms can be strengths. Whether your ADHD symptoms are strengths or weaknesses depends on the context. To identify how your symptoms are strengths think about how they help you in various domains.

For example, my willingness to take risks, persistence, creativity, energy and sense of humor have been instrumental in my business success. But that same energy and humor, if not managed well, can be a distraction in some settings, like in “very serious meetings.”

What strengths do you have that come from your ADHD? In what context(s) can they serve you?

Check out Lara Honos-Webb book, The Gift Of Adult ADHD, to explore more about the gifts of ADHD. (Link works)

Assessments

There are many assessments you can use to learn more about your strengths in the various domains of your life. If you’re interested, I encourage you to continue this exploration.

VIA Survey

If you are interested in exploring your character strengths, the VIA Survey of Character StrengthsCharacter is a great place to start.

Kolbe A Index

The Kolbe A Index measures your instinctive way of doing things, your strengths. You can use this information in both your personal and professional life. ($49)

DiSC

DiSC is another assessment that gives you insight into your behavior and personality, designed primarily to help you understand yourself and colleagues in the workplace. ($29)

MBTI

By finding out your personality preference as measured by the Jungian Personality types (or MBTI), you can make decisions about your current environment and future goals. (free) More information on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

StengthsFinder 2.0

The Gallups Clifton Strengths is also a popular assessment to uncover your strengths. Top five strengths are $20 but a report on all 34 strengths is $89. (Currently on sale for $50) If you’re interested, You can find a 20-minute video by Marcus Buckingham, co-author of both Strengths Finder 2 and Now Discover Your Strengths, here.

Imagine The Possibilities!

Theoretically, I think you could do many things you want, given the right amount of persistence, dedication, and time.

However, I am just as interested in your journey as I am in you reaching your end goal(s). And, if you also think the quality of your journey is just as important as reaching the finish line, then using your strengths along the way is critical.

Because when you are operating from your strengths you are more in flow and life is just easier. As Dr. Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology Movement notes, using your highest strengths leads to…

more positive emotions
more engagement in life
better relationships
more meaning
and more accomplishments

Wouldn’t that be nice?!

Once you know your strengths you can make choices that will work best for you in creating the life you want.

What Is Next?

Ok, so you know that knowing and utilizing your strengths is helpful. Great. But now you may be wondering, “After I figure out my strengths what do I do?” Here are a few options to ponder.

Choose What You Do

Put yourself in situations where you can apply and use your strengths.

If you have some freedom in what tasks you do at work, think about choosing those that will draw on your strengths. Likewise, if you are considering a career / job transition, incorporate what you know about your strengths into your decision.

Another example is volunteering outside of work. You may be afraid of getting stuck with some administrative task, if you offer to help. So, if being outgoing is one of your strengths, offer to greet new members at the meetings. And when asked to take minutes say, “no!” Well, maybe say, “No, thank you, but I can do…”

Where else can you put yourself in the “right situations” that rely on your strengths?

Negotiate, Delegate, Barter, Decline…

There are things that need to get done both at work and at home. Ideally, everyone would just get to do those things that play to their strengths. That will likely not happen for you, right?

But once you know your strengths you can be more strategic. And start to think about how you could spend more time and energy doing tasks that draw on your strengths.

Could you…

ask to “trade” tasks with someone for one that better suits your talents?
delegate a task so you have more time for others that suit you better?
barter for a task that will use your strengths?
just say, “no,” so you have more time to operate in domains that use your gifts?

Just because you have been doing things a certain way up until now doesn’t mean you have to continue that way.

What could you change up?

Become More Skilled

We know that strengths are not fixed. They can both grow stronger or atrophy. It is up to you.

As you discover your strengths you could choose to focus your attention on a particular strength to make it stronger, if you think it would serve you. Because strengths can be learned, practiced and cultivated.

What is one strength you have that you would like to improve?

ADDed Perspectives Bottom Line

When you are using your strengths you will be fueled by the motivation that comes with performing tasks that come easier to you.

And be the best version of yourself!

Oh, and the journey will just be more enjoyable…

By Marla Cummins. Please visit Marla’s website at www.marlacummins.com for additional articles and resources on Adult ADHD. Original article can be found at: http://marlacummins.com/adult-adhd-your-gifts/

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