Experiment!
Those of us with ADHD defy the norm quite often. Our natural way of doing things works for us, but it is not the way everyone else does things. Because our natural abilities are so different, we get programmed at a young age to not do things the way that is easiest for us. We get pressured into doing things the way everyone else does. This is not good. It does not allow us to accomplish what we otherwise could because we are forced to things in the same manner as everyone else. We need to be free to live by our own owner’s manual. However, in order to use our own owner’s manual, we first need to write it. Society’s programming of our behavior makes us ignorant of what works best for us. To learn what methods work best for us, we must experiment. Here’s how:
Get into a Growth Mindset
The goal is, not to become an expert in task X, Y, or Z, but to grow. If you slowly get better and better, that is a good thing. Growth is the key in experimenting to find what works best for you. Foster a growth mindset, and you will have a better chance of becoming the person you want to be, the person you were created to be. If you run an experiment with anything but a growth mindset, you will be miserable. Is it easy? No. But, I do have a four-part blog series on the growth mindset.
Try Something
Listen to Shia LaBeouf and Nike, and just do it. Do not overanalyze things. Try something, and see how it goes. Thomas Edison ran about 1,000 experiments in his attempt to create a light bulb. Edison is revered for his intellect. If he can try something that many times, surely you and I can get out there and experiment a bit.
There Is No Failure
When coaching my clients, I tell them that, when we come up with an action plan, it either succeeds or we learn what does not work. This is part of a growth mindset. We need to focus on learning what does and does not work and not be concerned with success or failure. If we focus on results, we will have poor results. If we focus on growth, we only get growth.
Need Help?
Do you need help coming up with, designing, and executing experiments to determine what works best for you? Coaching can help you do that. If you are interested in learning what coaching is all about, click here.