Thursday, December 09, 2010
Learning from the Paradox of ADHD (V)
Life is a paradox of seemingly opposite situations and experiences that seem to happen
without any explanation.When events are perceived in a dark or hopeless way, we often
ask: “Why me?” “Why did this happen to me?” and “I am hopeless.”We find ourselves
drowning in our own, uncontrolled emotions. Maybe these paradoxical experiences are
here to teach us something important.
After all, how would we know what light was unless we had experienced darkness, or
what success was like unless we had experienced struggle and frustration or how can
we understand what it is like to live a physically healthy life unless we have experienced
sickness.
ADHD is a paradox of weakness that affects how and where we can pay attention,
control our response mechanism or manage our overwhelming energy and thoughts. However,
ADHD can also be an abundance of hyper focus, boundless levels of creativity, and physical
energy that can be great on the ball field or working on an important project.Maybe ADHD is
there to teach us that for all the weaknesses we possess they are also there to show us
where our strengths are located.
When I know what I don’t do well, is it possible that I can learn what I am capable of doing well?
When I know what I can’t pay attention to, have I thought about what I can pay attention to?
If we look at our struggles and pains as something that define us and live with these unchallenged
memories rather than learn from them, we will become our own source of pain. We all have the ability
to become people who can learn from our own painful experiences; by using them as tools to help
us grow into smarter, stronger human beings seeking to create joy,happiness and fulfillment.
