If you are a woman with ADHD you know it can be easy to get bogged down with overwhelm and frustration. If you are looking for strategies to boost your motivation and confidence, check out these 5 tips from ADHD expert Dr. Lara Honos-Webb.
1. Ask “What Went Right?”
I have seen lives changed when people start asking this question. Many people narrowly and obsessively focus on what is wrong. Many people discount positives. You can turn this around by asking every day “What went right?” You can turn your family dinner conversation around with this question.
2. Think of a time when you felt loved
Spend 1 minute every hour “marinating” in that feeling. It’s too easy to doubt yourself. It’s too easy to remember the slights and the hurts. You can choose to receive love and define yourself by those experiences in which you were cared for and appreciated.
3. Focus on your gifts
Finding and focusing on gifts you have will create a different future. If what you see isn’t where you want to be, if you change the way you see yourself now, you will change the future. Sometimes you have to believe it first to see it in the future.
4. Think of 5 past successes
Just thinking of 5 past successes reminds you that you have a track record. Change is hard and goes slowly. Remembering past successes allows you to see how long it can take to make things happen. Also seeing that you have a track record of success allows you to challenge the belief that you just got lucky. You can see you bring a lot to the table and you can bring those same traits and abilities to the table in the current challenge.
5. Come up with 5 reasons you can make something work.
As an example, people in middle age who face having to change jobs feel they cannot handle it. Some reasons that being older increases their ability to handle a new job is that 1) they have learned from mistakes 2) they have more credibility 3) family responsibilities have lessened so they have less work-family conflict 4) they have a larger social network and 5) they have testimonials from prior successes.
What motivates you? Share your experience in the comments section below or tweet us @ADHDWomen.
Dr. Lara Honos-Webb PhD is a clinical psychologist, worldwide ADHD expert, and author of The Gift of ADHD, The Gift of ADHD Activity Book, The Gift of Adult ADD and The ADHD Workbook for Teens. She champions a revolutionary approach to ADHD, that focuses on leveraging our gifts, and transforming our “symptoms” into strengths. Learn more about her work at www.addisagift.com
