Don’t say this and don’t say that. Edit, edit, edit. That phrase is good, but this word could be wrong or that word could cause problems if perceived wrong. Keep your back straight. Posture is important. What we say and what we do is very important, there is very little room for error. Civilization in the modern world is about being as close to perfect as possible. It doesn’t matter really what situation we are in, the importance of being error free is incredible. We have become so used to editing our own words over and over again that we hardly realize that we know what we want to say, but if we say it exactly the way we mean it, well, then we are going to have problems.
Just about all of us with ADHD have gotten used to being called immature, childish, green and juvenile – basically we are unconventional and improper, but even so, what we do well usually works better than anyone else that does it. It seems to be a fact of life that we live with day in and day out. And it hits us where it hurts, emotionally and mentally. With that said, there is a very important and incredible significance to all of this when we look at history and the modern world of special individuals. Who are most likely to stand out and make history and do things that will make a difference beyond all expectations?
People like: Da Vinci, Einstein and Winston Churchill? Or, people like: Henry Ford, Beethoven and Emily Dickinson? One of the things these great people from history have in common, besides a bit of unconventional behavior, is that they are all considered to have had ADHD! Even in today’s fast paced, need to be perfect world, the stand outs are people such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Paris Hilton above all the rest. A quick search of these folks on the internet lists all of them as either have or considered to have ADHD! All three of them are school drop outs and all three of them are more successful than most graduates in any field.
Why are the above listed people so successful for themselves? Because it is not their unconventional behavior that matters most (except maybe with Paris Hilton, she’s even made that work), it is what they have created or what they create that matters the most! Their ideas and talents are too obvious to be ignored. They have either gotten or are getting results that matter, which make a difference, results nobody else is able to achieve. History has shown that when a person tries to be as perfect as possible in everything they say and do success is less likely to be achieved. Risk is important, impulse is important and flying by the seat of your pants with creative and innovative ideas could be the most perfect thing you can do to become successful! And if anyone is perfect for such it is us ADDers!
ADDers are well known to be gifted with uncommon talents, ideas and creativity. It is also becoming recognized that a great deal of people with ADHD have above average or very high IQ’s – Gifted is becoming a term synonymic with ADHD. As ADHD becomes better understood and recognized, innovative employers are seeing special untapped opportunities in people with ADHD. It makes sense too, because the most well known successful difference makers in history and in today’s world are either known to have or are considered to have ADHD! Sure, they may have to put up with a little immaturity, distracted nature and unperfected style, but is that worth losing out on all the rest which is offered by such creative and talented people? The answer might be obvious to most reading this and it is finally becoming obvious to the rest too!
There are a lot of problems with having ADHD and being perfect and is not even a remote possibility; however, there are a lot of good things that come of having ADHD too. When ADHD becomes the ‘in’ thing to have we will see a lot of people coming out of the darkness and into the light of diagnosis, but beware the ‘in’ thing will also lead people to say they have it when they don’t. It is a paradox and we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we deserve to see a little light at the end of the tunnel… don’t you think? However, don’t expect everyone to jump on this bandwagon, most issues we ADDers have deals with how society behaves toward us and our behavioral differences, if we become accepted for who we are and what we do naturally, well, it stands to reason that many of our behavioral differences won’t lead to many of the negative issues we currently find ourselves in… (let’s conveniently skip relationships in this post) It is still important to note that those with severe ADHD find when they are accepted that they still have problems dealing with society, so it is not all a bed of roses to be seen in the future, still, the advances of understanding and treatment is a benefit to all!
By the way, I am just flying by the seat of my pants on this article and it’s all just my personal observations, but, really, my personal observations are becoming valued the world over. Don’t you think? I do have ADHD after all!
What have you been able to achieve when just exploring your ideas, talents and creativity for yourself or for others? Wouldn’t it be great to read through the job wanted ads and see: Now Hiring! People with ADHD!
~Bryan
