jack of all trades - having ADHD sucks - but not knowing you have it is worse!

having ADHD sucks - but not knowing you have it is worse!

Spare a thought for the ‘gifted kid’ with a basket of extraordinary talents, who the other kids dislike for being able to ‘do’, then look down on for being unable to execute tasks they take for granted.

Imagine if you can;

- failing to pay attention unless you are intensely engaged - then not remembering to do anything else;

- being unable to complete projects;

- struggling to have the brain juice to sustain long-term mental effort on tedious or menial tasks - causing procrastination to become your middle name;

- getting distracted by silly things or forgetting the essential details;

- constantly losing your stuff;

- having unregulated emotions when overwhelmed; or

- being bullied until you explode for the amusement of others.

What if you believed you;

didn’t try hard enough:
weren’t paying attention or applying yourself: and
could squeeze more from your brain capacity?

Why can’t you remember to;

pick up your dry cleaning;
pay your bills on time and avoid the penalties for paying late?

You are not:

broken;
defective;
broke;
bored with your job; or
unable to stop taking because your character is flawed.

Believing that your problem was that you didn’t try hard enough, or weren’t paying enough attention or applying yourself. believing that if you only were able to squeeze a few extra things out of your brain capacity you’d actually be able to remember to pay your bills on time, pick up your dry cleaning when it was due or manage to avoid the penalties. Believing that you were somehow broken, defective. Believing that the reason you were bored at your job was your fault, the reason you never had any money was a character flaw because everyone else can do it. Believing that talking too much is a bad thing despite not physically knowing how to shut up.

You create;

ridiculously high expectations for yourself that you can do the same things on a daily basis that other people do;
drug and alcohol addictions to cope;
unhealthy patterns like smoking weed because it makes life easier;
conditions for yourself you can’t understand for unknown reasons; and
things for other people but don’t craft anything for yourself.

Like a lot of ‘gifted kids’ I struggled with adulting.

I’m a forty-year-old gifted kid who floundered through life with a string of broken promises, dreams, broken bones and hearts.

I felt cornered and frustrated with a world that refused to understand me. Instead, society labelled me as disordered or dysmorphic. Then I discovered I have ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, another fucken disorder!

I almost lost it all.

My purpose, my marriage, and I did lose my business.

Worst of all I nearly lost my mind and myself.

I almost took my life.

‘I’m not fucken broken! I’ve just been taught to believe I am.

I am who I am.’

‘I am a jack of all trades - master of none

Although, often I am better than master of one’

I spent years learning, achieving, proving, figuring out how to wrestle this racecar brain.

And then, a year ago, I was diagnosed with lymphoma.

I amused myself by joking with the doctors and therapists saying

“Is that all? I’ve recovered my mental health. This is only physical!”

Six months of chemotherapy, monthly blood tests and multiple visits to the Doctor later I’m back and I’m better than ever.

I have a new lease on life and a mission to complete.

Imagine how I felt getting the instruction manual for my brain! A racecar engine with bicycle brakes, strengthened now I understand how the engine works and how to apply those brakes. Accepting and embracing that engine, and taking it out for a spin, knowing what it does and how it works.

Then I decided to invest everything I have ever learned in my life’s purpose.

I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can reach others who have this racecar engine and teach them how to apply the brakes.

Everyone deserves;

their best life;
a positive outlook for the future;
to grow up believing they are perfect the way they are: and
to know it is up to them to make the most out of their mind.

No one should experience the pain of being misunderstood or hating themself.

I am creating -

A blueprint for success from a roadmap of challenges to guide us to maximise our beautiful racecar engines.
A network of people who imagine a world like that too and believe in the possibility of making it a reality.
Support structures to help them strengthen brakes and understand minds.
A place where people can express themselves freely without judgment or recrimination.
Strategies to foster understanding of the invisible challenges that any person can go through.
Healthier minds together for each other for our futures