Since third grade you knew you were different. One minute you were staring out the window lost in the trees and the next minute you were chewing an intricate wood carving design into your No. 2 pencil. Teachers didn’t know how to handle you even though they told your mother, “He has so much potential if only he could sit still, pay attention, and focus on his work.”
Years ago (before everyone was diagnosed with ADD), the child who was unlike the others was labeled creative. You knew that if school was too difficult for you, there would be several other fabulous, fun and exciting careers for imaginative thinkers.
Well, the time has come to improve your relationship with those three dreaded letters -ADD. They’ve haunted you for long enough. There’s been so much attention on how terrible it is to have “ADD” that you forgot how great it is to have the those “special” abilities and the super-powers that come along with it.
Yes, it’s true. Each trait has a positive and negative side to it.
After one receives a diagnosis of ADD, you can only think about all the things that are wrong with you. “This causes feelings of shame, fear, and self-doubt,” according to Edward Hallowell, M.D.
Focusing on the negative aspects of ADD keeps you locked into feeling stuck or that things are just “too hard” to work through. But when you flip the focus and see that each (so-called) negative trait has a positive side to it, you will see just how beneficial ADD can be. Magic happens when you see the true mirror image of each trait.
If you’re not sure if you have ADD (or ADHD), check this out video…
Negative labels are destructive to everyone, especially to the person who labels him/her self. Dump those negative labels and let’s see just how amazing you are!
1. You see what others don’t see, you see more.
Your creative perspective gives you x-ray vision to see beyond the surface. Some people see raindrops, you see sparkling reflective circles dancing on your window.
2. You’re a champion multi-tasker.
Pity those poor people who can only manage do one thing at a time. Not you! You’re a super-task-master. Maybe you’ve got three computer screens going on at once or you’re working two cellphones and a landline at the same time. No problem. You can handle it.
3. You’re philosophically deeper than most people.
Your conversations jump off the pages of a Dostoyevsky novel. Boring, you are not!
4. You are an artist, an actor, a writer, marketing expert, chef, Wall Street trader, a musician, or filmmaker.
You’re a comedian, a hairstylist, or cabinetmaker. Maybe you work for Google. Who else would be able to understand the detailed path of algorithms and coding? The world needs you.
5. When you find something you love, you do it with passion.
Once your engine kicks in, nothing can stop you. Passion drives you to greatness.
6. Change doesn’t scare you.
In fact, you love it. You’re flexible and go with the flow, wherever it takes you. You’re a risk taker who will venture into new projects without a worry. No big deal. If it doesn’t work out, you’ll try something else.
7. You’re an out-of-the-box thinker.
You have innovative ideas most people would never think of. Ingenious ideas fly into brain all hours of the day and night.
8. Your awesome sense of humor keeps you optimistic.
You love to laugh. Like all great comedians you find something funny or look at the bright side of issues that would bring most people to a state of doom and gloom.
9. You are resilient.
Not much knocks you down, and if it does, you wipe yourself off, get back up and never quit until you get it right.
10. You work great under pressure.
Actually, you work even better under pressure. You can stay up all night preparing a spectacular presentation and then deliver it the next day with an Oscar-worthy preformance.
11. You have a photographic memory.
Be it numbers, words, letters, or places, those digits stick. Your brain is a warehouse, a storage center, archiving memories and visuals since you were two years old.
12. You are compassionate, empathetic, and totally lovable.
Your loving heart lets you feel what is in someone else’s heart. You’re the sweetest boyfriend (or girlfriend), husband (or wife), friend, sibling anyboy could ever want.
Who said it’s so terrible to have ADD?
Isn’t it time to start loving your special gifts? Admit it, you’re fabulous!
