Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.
–Napoleon Hill
ADHD-I is not an easy thing for anyone to confront. (Neither is depression, or alcoholism, or obesity, or divorce, or grief, or any one of many many potential challenges in life–I definitely don’t mean to imply that it’s any more or less difficult than any other challenge.) However, I have found the above quote to contain truth.
I can’t say that I have fully achieved what I want to achieve in my personal pursuit of organization, calendaring, and punctuality. But I can say that having ADHD-I, and trying day after day to combat its effects, has yielded many positive things in my life. Some of those things are easy to see–college degrees, awards, etc. Others are less apparent, and are more internal.
I haven’t gotten to where I want to be. I feel that there is much left for me to do. However, I truly believe that by the end of my life, I will have overcome this stuff. I feel like there is this thing inside me that will not stop until I have mastered this component of my life.
It’s why I get up every day desiring to work as hard as I can at the things I do.
It’s why I will never stop trying to structure my life in a way that works for me–item by item, little by little, getting things under control.
It’s why I write here.
It’s why I will never ever stop pursuing my dreams, even the really terrifying ones, until I see them realized–even though the odds are stacked against me, and anybody who knows what having ADHD-I means might say “listen, maybe such and such is not for you…”
I refuse to accept that answer. And the above quote is, at least in part, the reason why.
Have a nice Sunday night, and Happy Valentine’s day.
I am so glad that this has been helping you and you're happy with your accomplishments. I agree with your decision to take little bites at a time and I hope you share with us what you plan to do as a celebration for making it to March 7th.
I have also been wondering as I've been reading your posts how your challenges with ADHD-I have affected your work as a therapist. I know that when we talk I've always felt I had your undivided attention and that you weren't thinking of other things which I now find very impressive and I wonder if you struggle to stay focused when administering a session at work. Just something I was thinking about today as I was reading.
I'm happy to hear that this is a useful tool for you and that you are finding it enjoyable! I for one love reading your updates! I also love how you strive to improve and you work so diligently to do so – it's a very impressive part of your personality!
-Sarah
Kimmie–that's a really good question. I actually have no trouble whatsoever paying attention in session. (At least from my perspective. Perhaps my clients would say otherwise? Maybe they see me zone out or something?) It's the kind of activity that I don't have trouble with–it is interesting, and it doesn't require deep concentration, and there is an element of adrenaline inherent in the work, so it's actually invigorating to me.
Sarah–Thanks for your kind words!
What is ADHD-I? I have two boys with ADHD (they manifest it in different ways than each other) But I have never heard of ADHD-I.
Some people are more hyperactive and some are more inattentive. I believe the "I" stands for inattentive. I have the same thing.
Awesome quote of Napolean Hill . Thanks for sharing this.