7 Reasons I Love ADHD
Despite My Advanced Age and Gray Hair
The upsides (and downsides) of having ADHD as an adult, despite being told it would go away as you grew older.
Generous
1. You’re generous. You’re always there if a friend needs 10 bucks, 100 bucks if you’ve got it which you probably don’t. You often forget they even borrowed money from you. (Money management is not one of your strong points. And balancing a checkbook? Well, just forget it! After all, credit cards are so much easier than checkbooks.)
Creative
2. You’re creative and don’t understand why experts give workshops in “How to Think Outside the Box.” You were born thinking outside the box. You’re quick to offer solutions when others are stuck.
Intelligent
3. You’re smart even though you struggled in school. You flunked math. They said you shouldn’t go to college. You went anyway and took five years to graduate because every course was interesting except or science that required math. Eventually, you got a PhD after changing fields 4 times.
Curious
4. Your curious, ask lots of questions, have lots of ideas. It’s said that Einstein, DaVinci, and Mozart had ADHD. (Yes, diagnosing centuries later is a bit “iffy.”) After all the ADHD brain never stops thinking, never stops planning, never lacks new ideas.
Innovative
5. You’re an entrepreneur. Most entrepreneurs have ADHD. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 45% of new businesses fail after the first five years. (See 1 above about money management, and get a numbers person on your team immediately if you’re thinking about starting a business.)
Inventive
6. You have a lot of interesting projects going on at the same time. Some you’ll never finish, but the ones you do finish are winners — it just takes you longer. (Case in point, the author of these encouraging reminders is writing two books at the same time.)
Hyperfocused
7. You hyperfocus. That’s why you get the book written, the project finished. It’s my favorite ADHD gift. Those pesky experts often list the ability to hyperfocus as a negative trait. But I’ve yet to meet a fellow ADHDer who doesn’t love hyperfocusing.
Bonus: Hyperfocusing is good for losing weight because you forget to eat lunch.
Downside: Unfortunately, when you’re not hyperfocusing, you’re procrastinating. But this is about the benefits of ADHD and you only procrastinate on the boring, stupid stuff anyway.