“Embrace who you are and your divine purpose.”
— Germany Kent
I think this picture speaks loud and clear for many of us. My friend Kay, who also has ADHD, and I were in Colorado on our way to… so many places. We gathered everything we could think of for our full day of sightseeing. Then we got in the car – for the second time . . . no, wait! It was the third time!
Can you guess what happened? Yep! We forgot about 4 things. Back inside she went to gather a few more things we forgot. I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned to hate the phrase “did you forget anything?” In my mind I would say, Of course I did – but what is it?
It seemed that every day as I was leaving for work, I’d have to go back into the house to gather a few things I forgot. It was frustrating and at times humiliating. Some people think it’s fun to see you go back and forth two and three times to get everything you need. I can honestly say it was never fun for me to repeatedly forget basic things such as keys, my purse or work related items. But I’d laugh with them as I went back inside to gather what I needed. Internally, I’d berate myself.
But notice the smile on Kay’s face — that’s called “Embracing It.” Rather than berate ourselves internally or make excuses, people with ADHD need to embrace it. This is how we are and it’s important to not look at it as a failure, but to look at it as “I simply have to go back and get what I needed.” If anyone forgets something, what do they do? They go back and get it. It doesn’t really matter how many times or the fact that others don’t do it as often as we do. Embrace it!
You need to think about the perception you give others. Is it possible those with ADHD are verbalizing their frustration to everyone that “I’m so tired of forgetting things” — and then act exasperated. Isn’t this the same as walking late into a business meeting and calling ourselves out by saying, “Sorry, I’m late again.”
There are things many of us with ADHD just don’t have great control over. But you can help gain better control by making a daily check list. I use icons to create a checklist to view each day before I leave the house, such as 🔑💲🤓📱😷⌚︎🧢📂. The last one is a folder to remind me of work related items. Then post it somewhere near the door. It gives me a sense of calm going out the door knowing I have the essentials I need. On the way to work, I’m not berating myself for forgetting once again. Kids can make their own checklist for school. A list will definitely reduce your frustrations.
Because my friend and I both have ADHD, we understood each other and laughing at ourselves stopped the negative thought of “here I go again.”
And, we had a great day!
JOYCE
“Identify the barriers in your life,
and develop discipline, courage
and the strength to permanently move beyond them,
and keep moving forward.”
— Germany Kent
