ADHD as a Gift - The Child's
Problem can Transform to Adult Strength.
The ADHD child's problem can transform into a wonderful gift
and strength as an adult. The ADHD child fidgets, cannot sit, is
easily distracted and can't keep quiet if their very life
depended on it. The ADHD child interrupts conversations to blurt
out a thought that quickly zipped into their mind. The ADHD
child bounces from one uncompleted task to another, forgets
important appointments, dates and tasks, can't follow lengthy or
even not-so-lengthy instructions, blah, blah, blah. We all know
full well the child's problem with ADHD.
Let's switch focus for just a minute. Instead of looking at the
problem - the curse of ADHD that will surely lead to the child's
life of ruin if not squelched immediately - let's focus instead
on how this can transform into a gift and a strength. Let's look
at the positive attributes that ADHD brings to the table.
The gift and strength of ADHD often includes: higher
intelligence, creativity, compassion, hyper-focus, unstoppable
drive, increased problem solving abilities, resilience,
intuitiveness and the ability to look at problems and issues
from a different perspective.
ADHD as a gift and a strength is an idea gaining great
popularity. The symptoms of ADHD, typically identified as the
child's problem in their early years, can transform into
incredibly unique and special talents in the ADHD adult.
Several studies show that people with ADHD are up to 20% more
intelligent than the average person. This higher intelligence
also encourages outstanding problem solving abilities can be
outstanding. Consider Thomas Edison and Thomas Jefferson - two
phenomenal problem-solvers who displayed ADD symptoms. Adults
with ADHD also seem to be blessed with the gift of intuition,
possibly due to higher levels of perception.
The ADHD adult likely spent their childhood years struggling
socially and academically. They got in trouble, got sent to the
back of the class, got yelled at, got whacked. They also got
resilient. Resilience and compassion are natural outcome of
adversity. Many adult Adders easily and smoothly bounce back
from challenges and temporary defeat, thanks to the resiliency
skill learned from an early age.
The ADHD adult who learn to laugh at themselves and at the world
around them also develop a great sense of humor. These people
love to laugh and love to make others laugh as well. Not a bad
trait to have, wouldn't you agree?
The inability to focus and concentrate is one problem shared
among most ADDers. The flip-side to this "problem" is an
unstoppable, hyper-focused drive when working on projects or
tasks of interest. That over-drive brain gets the ADHD child
into heaps of trouble. If well aligned as an adult, it becomes
an unstoppable force capable of achieving anything from setting
and attaining life goals to completing short-term projects.
The over-drive brain, along with the ADD's unique ability to
look at the world from a different perspective often becomes a
overflowing wellspring of ideas. Some ideas are good, some bad.
It's a numbers game. The more ideas you have, the more you have
to choose from. This is an advantage to anyone and especially to
those working in fields that require creativity or
out-of-the-box thinking.
More than a few successful adults with ADHD started out as weird
little kids that caused so many adults to scratch their heads
and wonder "What the heck was he thinking?" This unique way of
looking at the world and the different perspective offered is
truly what makes the person with ADD special.
Finally, people with ADHD are often highly, highly creative -
thanks to a brain that, thankfully, doesn't work like everyone
else's. The ADHD adult often and very naturally gravitates to
careers as artists, writers, musicians and other fields that
demand uniqueness.
Sure, there are pitfalls to having ADHD. There are also many
benefits that have the potential to bring joy and success to
your life. With that, I would like to close with a story;
A young man pulled into an unfamiliar town and asked a gentlemen
there, "What kind of people live in this town?" The elder
gentleman asked what kind of people live in the young man's
hometown. "A bunch of cheats and creeps," the man answered. To
this, the gentleman said, "Yep, that's exactly what you will
find here." Later another young man pulled into town and asked
the elder gentleman about the townspeople. Again, the elder
gentleman inquired about the people from this young man's
hometown. "Where I come from, most people are kind, good and
respectful," the second young man replied. "Yep, that's exactly
what you will find here," said the elder gentleman.
What you look for, you will find. Seek out the positive
attributes of ADD and you will be rewarded with finding just
that.
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