ADHD & Not-good-enough-ness

Throughout my younger years, people showed me I was different and didn’t fit in. I just needed to apply myself and try harder. (Funny I heard that when I had the highest grade in the class and graduated high school with a 3.83 GPA!)

Then as it is now, being different is strange and threatening. The collective “We” of community doesn’t want you as part of their tribe. The status quo— how we’ve always been as individuals and the community— promotes safety and cohesion.

Yet, we are different.

ADHD is a genetic condition that has existed from antiquity into today. Roughly 1 in 10 people have ADHD. If there was no societal or genetic advantage to ADHD, humanity would have bred it out of our genome long ago. There must be something of value that nature sees in us.

Folks with ADHD are creative and think differently. Oftentimes, we are the fun and impulsive members of society. We discover novel and unique ways to solve problems. I’d go so far as to say ADHD is one of the spices of life.

In many instances and across many cultures, the majority tell us that being different = being bad.

For those of us lucky enough to be born with ADHD, we can move society forward when it gets stuck in the mud.

• You are not defined by your ADHD struggles. You are defined by the core person you are.
• Do not allow yourself to think less of yourself because of your challenges.
• Strive to feel complete within your own skin and reality.
• Your reality is your normal.
• Let others into your life within the boundaries that will keep you safe.
• Stop trying to remove and fighting against your ADHD challenges. Embrace them and meet them head-long.
• Don’t live life at your own expense. Fill your own cup as you fill other’s.
• Embrace the truth that you are different and that difference can be your superpower.

Society is gripped in an epic struggle to contain the explosion of different-ness we are currently witnessing. Many people feel threatened by the new changes and growth within our civilization. People are claiming the right to express themselves as they truly see fit— socially, culturally, ethnically, politically, sexually— hopefully within the bounds of not hurting others. I would like to offer you the opportunity to claim the right of being different with your ADHD.

No longer does ADHD need to make you feel “not good enough”. Only dogs and cars need fixing. You are neither. Nor are you broken.