ADHD is a Deficit of Executive Function, Not Attention

Those who have ADHD know this is true. Attention is everywhere except where it is ‘supposed’ to be. In fact, attention is rarely focused on the required task unless there is a sense of urgency and established consequences.  You know what to do, yet you are often unable to follow through with your good intentions.

The person who has ADHD has ‘time blindness’.  If you are this person, you understand how hard it is to be on time almost anywhere for almost any reason. Your intentions are good, and then you see something or think of something, and in your mind, you are sure you have time to get it done before you have to leave. Once again, you are rushing to meet a starting time you have already missed. Once again, you are embarrassed when you are late to an appointment, or a meeting, or work. No matter  how early you start, somehow you are almost always late.

‘Out of sight, out of mind’ is something you understand, too. You may have things out instead of put away in your home or office, because you know if you put them away, you’ll forget about them. If you are a student with a paper or project due 2 months away, it disappears into thin air until the deadline is too close to ignore. You mean to work on it every day, but without small goals, and frequent reminders, it slips right out of your mind.

Your attention is everywhere, and it is so hard to pay attention and focus when someone is talking to you. You notice this. The people who want your attention notice it, too. It may be causing problems in a relationship. Maybe you fidget, or doodle, or make notes, or think about something else that passes through your mind. You don’t mean to not pay attention.

You are very sensitive to how angry and critical and disapproving people seem to be when you don’t follow through. It’s not that you wanted to let people down. It just happened. Then, it happened again, and again, and again.

You’re not a bad person. You know what to do. You simply have a brain that has difficulty taking you from knowing what to do, to taking the necessary action to accomplish your intended goal in the way you want to do it. You may feel very bad about yourself. You may feel like a failure when you don’t follow through, or meet expectations, or pay attention, or manage your life in the way you think you should.

It’s okay. You are okay. There are things you can do, steps you can take, to begin to follow through on what you want to do, wish to do, and intend to do. 

 

What Is Integral Coaching?

 

Levels of Consciousness

Integral Coaching joins together our levels of consciousness, the various ways we experience our lives, to help us have a more complete awareness of how we feel and what we want. It recognizes and appreciates the variety of ways we know and understand ourselves, others, and the world around us.

Oneness, Values, and Sense of Purpose

We are invited to tap into our sense of oneness and connection with what is greater than ourselves. We are encouraged to reflect on our personal values and our sense of purpose.

Intuition and Imagination

We begin to recognize and use our intuition and imagination. There are imagination exercises we can use to better understand what really matters to us.

We Have Our Own Stories

We realize we each have our own stories, and our own ways of understanding and describing ourselves and our experiences. We can also create our own stories as we explore ideas about how we want our lives to be.

Logical and Rational Thinking

As humans in the current world, we frequently use rational and logical ways of thinking to understand our lives and make decisions.

Integral Consciousness

Integral coaching ties together all of these levels of consciousness. It acknowledges that we know and experience our lives in a variety of ways. The goal is to provide an environment where we can recognize these various parts of ourselves, so that we may find answers that come from who we truly are, reflecting what matters to us.

Visit ‘Food for Thought’

If you’ve not yet spent time looking through the images in the ‘Food for Thought’ section, check it out.  There is plenty of opportunity for introspection and reflection when you look at ‘Food for Thought’.

Food for Thought‘ is a collection of photos, images, lyrics, and quotes I’ve been collecting. I’m glad to finally be able to share them with you.

When you have a few minutes, browse the ‘Food for Thought’ section, and see what speaks to you. Some of the themes include “You are enough,” Relationships, Kindness, Beloved Pets, Healing, and original photos. 

Imagining Change (and Celebrating Imagination)

Imagining change is part of changing.

Change feels so hard for many of us. Sometimes, even imagining a change feels overwhelming. 

Imagining change is something to celebrate.

When we understand that fear of change can be the beginning of our journey, we can celebrate that we are imagining a change.

Imagining small steps I can take is something to celebrate.

Imagination allows me to move from “I can’t” to “I know I can do this one small thing.”

Imagining change is a step forward.

Imagining myself taking tiny steps is more important than I realize.

Imagining change is a step towards making the changes I want to make. 

1. Imagine the change you want to make.

2. Imagine how things will be in your life after you’ve done this.

3. Imagine one tiny action you can do easily and enjoyably that will take you one step closer to your goal.

4. Celebrate your imagination. Your imagination will take you far.

Welcome to Grateful Joy Coaching

Welcome to Grateful Joy Coaching

The name is based on the belief that choosing gratitude leads to joy.

The intention of Grateful Joy Coaching is that we will find it easy to choose gratitude, and we will discover we are delighted by joy.