If you are an adult with ADD, chances are that at some point in your life, you've felt that you are not "living up to your potential." This judgment often manifests itself when you take stock of all the great ideas you've had that have never gone anywhere, and all the unfinished projects that you have started but never completed.
The overwhelming number of these things that have not been "followed through" can lead you to believe that you are not living up to your potential.
This is simply not true.
By nature, ADDers are visionaries and idea generators. If only someone would pay us to think up great ideas all day long - we'd all be rich! But we get so many great ideas all the time that it would be absolutely impossible to follow through on every one of them.
Think about it. If you tried to implement every good idea you ever had, would you have time to eat, sleep, or even breathe right now? Probably not. But this is not an indication that you're lazy, unable to follow through, or not living up to your potential.
Successful ADDers know that they are always going to have great ideas that never come to fruition. It's just our nature to be constantly thinking, creating and innovating. We can't shut off this part of ourselves even when we try. But we simply don't have the physical or mental capability to follow through on every great idea we get.
Embrace this concept as truth. Realize that some ideas are worth following through on, and some are not. Let go of the guilt. Refuse to listen to the internal dialogue that tells you you're lazy and not living up to your potential, simply because you have too many good ideas to keep up with!
Instead, ask yourself what's practical to follow through on in the present, instead of putting pressure on yourself to do it all. Keep a notebook in which you write down your great ideas so that you can come back to them if you want to. Focus on a few great ideas that you actually did follow through with, and let these be your motivation moving forward.
And don't forget to acknowledge this special talent that you have. The ability to generate many great ideas makes you a visionary!
Self-Care for Adults with ADD: Put On Your Oxygen Mask
Take a moment to think about what happens when you get on an airplane. Before the plane takes off, the flight attendants outline safety procedures and inform you that, should the oxygen masks drop down, you must put yours on before you help anyone else. This is an excellent metaphor for self-care.
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