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!
Jennifer Koretsky is a Professional ADD Management Coach who helps
adults manage their ADD and move forward in life. She is the Leader
of Experience ADDvantages, a popular online membership community that
offers information, support, and coaching for adults with ADD. To
learn more about Experience ADDvantages, please visit
http://www.experienceADDvantages.com
