One of the most important things that an ADHD’er can do is to devote himself or herself to a greater purpose.
Managing ADHD can be very demanding. Changing a lifetime’s worth of self-destructive habits takes consistent effort. For any changes to stick, you have to understand your own driving motivation behind them. Wanting to fit in isn’t enough. Avoiding reprimands isn’t enough.
I say that you have to push yourself to contribute to something big: a community, a cause, a belief system. That is what will give you inspiration in your low moments. That is what will give you satisfaction in your triumphant moments. That is what will give meaning to the normal tasks of daily life.
“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose – a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.” – Mary Shelley
For me, my career mission is to empower everyone with ADHD to be happy, healthy and fulfilled. In my personal life, saving the environment and endangered species is my passion. I keep both of those goals in mind all the time. I ask myself over and over if I’m staying on track to help achieve these goals. A few times a month, I step back to see if the small decisions I make in daily life add up to support my aspirations. Am I doing the best for my clients? Am I making environmentally friendly choices?
When I feel overwhelmed or lost, I center myself with those goals. At the end of the day, I can put everything into perspective by asking if I have made progress towards my goals. By honoring my life’s mission, I stay true to myself. Even if it feels like everything else has gone wrong, I can hold on to these goals and know that I have made a difference.
“I began to have an idea of my life, not as the slow shaping of achievement to fit my preconceived purposes, but as the gradual discovery and growth of a purpose which I did not know.” – Joanna Field
What is your life’s work? Have you found it yet? Realizing that I could be a powerful advocate was one of the most important discoveries of my life. I was lucky enough to come of age in a time of exciting social change. In the civil rights and women’s rights movements, I learned on my feet how to debate, how to persuade people, and how to make a difference.
Over a decade later, as an educator, I saw kids who reminded me of myself. I worked closely with them, using the lessons of my youth to help improve their experiences at school. Soon enough their different way of thinking became known as ADHD. I knew that they needed someone to speak out for them, and so did the ADHD’ers my age and older. We had been unfairly misunderstood and underestimated and pigeonholed, and it needed to stop. I knew I had found the career I was meant for.
“Unless a life is activated by sustained purpose it can become a depressingly haphazard affair.” – Richard Guggenheimer
Everyone always seems to be in some state of self-improvement. We jump on and off of fads. We impulsively vow to make changes, and just as easily give up. Even when we achieve our goals, we only fleetingly enjoy our success before moving on to chase the next goal.
Identifying your mission will set you free. It will give you a driving force behind your actions. When you work towards changing your behaviors or communication patterns, it will be part of a strategy to fulfilling your purpose. You will look back and see how much you have accomplished. You will look forward and see how far you have to go, how you will get there, and most importantly, how worth it the journey will be.
I hope you will keep exploring resources, and reflecting on your behavior, and trying out tips and tricks recommended by experts like me to make daily life more productive. But I also hope that you acknowledge that you are hungry for a greater purpose. Go on and figure out just what that purpose is.
Image via the Sierra Club, one of my favorite charities.
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