No One’s Brain is Perfect

Occasionally, your ADD brain turns into a horrible person. A gossipy, condemning hag of a person. When you misplace something for the millionth time (like shoes) or you get lost down a familiar road, your ADD brain will start shouting out terrible, horrible, no good, very bad comments:

“Rob would never have left his wallet at the restaurant.”

“Man, you are so stupid! Who forgets their best friend’s birthday?”

“Could you not figure out how to get to the restaurant earlier? Now you’re 20 minutes late again. Loser!”

Our ADD brain will aim towards negativity, to blame and shame us every time.

We are our own worst enemies when it comes to how we view the mistakes we make due to our ADD-addled mind.

But it’s a lie, actually—the idea that other people with “average” brains (whatever those are), where dopamine and serotonin flow like the Nile, never, ever make mistakes.

But here’s the good news, friends: People with non-ADD brains make the same mistakes we make. They get distracted, overwhelmed and lose their ability to function or relate. It sounds funny, but it’s true. We have more confusing episodes, more challenges and obstacles in our way. But non-ADDers are by no means perfect, and in this ADD culture, they have problems paying attention just like we do—it’s just the frequency that’s different.

This is simple advice, but here it is: Be kind to yourself.

You are fighting a tough battle—don’t add yourself to the list of combatants. Give yourself some mercy, some grace, and the road will become a bit smoother.

Ryan McRae is ADD as the sun is bright. He is a corporate trainer and writes at MasterPresenting.com. He has the privilege of being Jeff’s mentor! He wrote a book called 19 A.D.D. HACKS THAT MAKE ANYONE’S LIFE EASIER where he shares his top “hacks” for getting more done and where this was originally printed.