Adult ADHD: If It Doesn't Work, Do It Again?

I'll bet that if you have Adult ADHD or ADHD symptoms this story will hit home for you...

I sat among a pile of papers. Everywhere I looked, I saw more work to do, and the longer I looked at it, the more overwhelmed I became. Finally, I burst into tears. "Why can't I just figure out a system for all of this paper?" I said to myself. There I was, an intelligent woman, ADHD symptoms or no, and I could not figure out how to set up a filing system. I felt stupid.

Really stupid.

So I got up and tried again. And again. And again. (Even though I know very well the worst thing someone with ADHD symptoms can do is to do the same thing over even when its not working!)

Each time I attempted to set up a new system, something wouldn't work, something I hadn't thought of, and I'd have to start all over again. I sat holding one single piece of paper, trying to figure out what to do with it, when the telephone rang.

It was an old friend - actually, an old assistant who had moved away to another state across the country.

"What'cha doin?" she asked.

"Trying to figure out how to file all of these @#$@#$ papers!" I exclaimed loudly. Patience is not generally a virtue of those with Adult ADHD.

She took a long pause and then said to me. "What are you doing that for? You're a speaker - you don't have the energy to spend on that kind of detail work - you're a PEOPLE person! Plus, you have ADHD!"

Well, duh. Yes, I am a people person and there I was, taking a lot of time to do something that frankly, I'm not so good at doing. (But of course, stubbornness is anther hallmark of Adult ADHD, and just then it was kicking in hard.)

BUT THEY DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT IN SCHOOL!! Remember back in school when you weren't so good in a subject? Maybe your ADHD symptoms were diagnosed or maybe they weren't, but either way, what did they tell you to do? Try harder, right?

Well, I say WRONG! We only have so many strengths and weaknesses, why focus on the weakness!

You see, unfortunately, by the time we get out of school many of us with Adult ADHD are so focused on what we're not good at, that we fail to even see what we are good at.

And in most cases, what people with Adult ADHD are good at is actually a real talent, a genius-level ability that other "normal" people can't even come close to. If only people with ADHD symptoms would take a look at what they are best at and love to do, and focus on doing that to the bast of their ability, imagine what would happen!

It makes a lot of sense to me for those with Adult ADHD to focus on strengths. When you focus on what you CAN do because of your ADHD symptoms instead of what you CANNOT do because of ADHD symptoms, opportunities arise and people flow into your life to help you. I've experienced this time and time again in my own life, and always when I was working on what I do well.

So my papers? They are all nice and neat in a new filing system which I did not create, but I do follow. Someone else had strengths in organization and helped me out (someone without Adult ADHD) -- truly a prosperous and profitable exchange of services.

How about you? What are you focusing on today? What you do well or what you do NOT do well? Adult ADHD comes with both sides--it's up to you what you emphasize. I challenge you to work your strengths for a month and see what progress you make.

Let me know!
And if you'd like to get more hints, tips and tricks for really focusing on your Adult ADHD strengths in the future, see below!