Questions make a great first step in getting unstuck when you need to make a change and haven’t been doing so. Questions are a form of action which is the secret sauce in overcoming inertia. Need to start something new? Ask questions to figure out how you can start. Time to up your habit? Questions will help you figure out how you can best do that. Rewards can be valuable tools and questions help you get to that. Make sure the questions you ask yourself will push you forward to the desired result.
Learning Curve
There were two lessons learned this week that maybe you can learn from, as I have. One learning curve was about anticipating more completely the experience I’m a out to have so that I can be better prepared on several levels. The other was the importance of writing down intentions as I form new habits.
Do You Have An ANT Problem?
Ant infestations happen when you don’t keep your space clean. That’s true for your mind too. One symptom of people with ADD is the tendency to have automatic negative thoughts, or as Danial Amen calls them — ANTs. With practice and intention you can change the mindset that encourages ANT infestations.
Clarity Of Self For Growth
Yesterday I puzzled about why some people seemingly have no interest in self-development and growth. This morning I came across an idea that may help me answer the questions I played with yesterday. Lack of self-trust which closes you off to feedback and problem solving, important aspects in growth. Self-trust comes from intimately knowing your core values. How do you get intimate with those values? Watch….
Puzzling Life Out
Are you content to stay just as you are, or do you want more for yourself and from your life? What are you doing about that change? Do you do nothing and complain about the results? Maybe you take charge and push yourself to get better. Everyone can be better in some aspect of their life. High performance coaching may be the help you need to break through to the other side.
Starting To Get Back To High Performance Living
This week’s videos continue the effort I’m making to coach myself back to high performance living sharing three of the keys I think they are primary in achieving and maintaining a high performance attitude and life. The three keys I’m talking about are Clarity (or Focus), Energy, and Mindfulness.
And, it’s making a difference!
Clarity is big in living a high performance life. I get overwhelmed easily. It’s not just the amount of information bombarding me from all directions, it’s also partly my ADD. For me, it’s hard to sort through what’s important, relevant, or even true. It’s probably that way for you too. If you have ADD that situation can be even worse! Getting and keeping Clarity is vital to staying grounded and on your path, moving toward your goal and your high performance life, so I keep learning.
This video also has its own page where you can watch “Clarity: Deterrent And Recovery”.
On to some Energy ideas.
You have heard time and again from many different people that leading a healthy lifestyle is what it takes to maintain your energy. I am proposing it’s a bit more than that. If you hate any of the aspects of what it means to live healthfully then you won’t stick to it and you’ll drain your energy fighting it. If you adopt an attitude that embraces healthy living you have a better chance at sticking to your plan and enjoying the plan — as well as being more fun to be with.
This video also has its own page where you can watch “Energy: “Adopt The Attitude”.
You can’t sit on your Energy laurels, you have to move with them — act on them. Movement is a big part of maintaining a high energy level. Honoring your commitments to movement builds self-esteem which supports high energy. Your action is more than just what you do for yourself, it’s what you do for and with others. Using your Energy for Action Beyond Yourself is a great way to increase your energy.
This video also has its own page where you can watch “Energy for Action Beyond Yourself”.
Now for some Mindfulness thinking.
Interestingly, when you loses mindfulness you can often lose presence and thus energy. What are your Mindfulness-Presence Thieves?
This video also has its own page where you can watch Mindfulness: Presence Thieves
What are you doing to bring the Sheriff into town so you can arrest those thieves?
To help you develop and improve your mindfulness I’ve created the Mindfulness 3×2 Framework that has worked for me. Learning new habits takes time, so don’t try this once or twice and give up. Keep applying yourself to this framework and watch your mindfulness grow. If it hadn’t worked for me I wouldn’t be so confident in it. The new habit I’m developing, using this framework, is to envision my day as I get up each morning. Wow! It’s a powerful exercise.
This video also has its own page where you can watch “Mindfulness: 3×2 Framework”.
I’m reminded by your questions and my experience that mindfulness isn’t something you acquire and have forever. Mindfulness requires attention and work. Constantly. Keep applying yourself and then accept you have Mindfulness Moment By Moment. You fall off your mindfulness….and get back on again.
This video also has its own page where you can watch Mindfulness: Moment By Moment.
After having the Clarity, Energy, and Mindfulness discussion the previous 6 days (7 actually, considering one Clarity post last week) I had a thought based on my experience in the world. I’m very sensitive. Not so much to what people say and do, though that can be an issue at times, but with other things. How many things are you sensitive to: sounds, light, touch, chemicals, tastes, textures, or chemicals? The thought was is Sensitivity an ADD Barometer?
This video also has its own page where you can watch Sensitivity, an ADD Barometer?.
Next week’s article will cover a different array of topics from puzzles to ants to learning curves. Gaining high performance is a winding path. Adding ADD — of your own, your partner’s or kids’, or merely “ADD Moments” — puts ups and downs in that winding path, and maybe even a few more curves. Enjoy the adventure!
Sensitivity, an ADD Barometer?
The notion that you can heal ADD/ADHD by changing your lifestyle appeals to me! That means it’s in everyone’s reach to manage their own ADD “recovery”, at least as far as the brain goes. Your “social skills” and thinking process may need some fine tuning since you’ve lived with ADD for awhile, but that’s where high performance coaching comes in. Combine a healed brain and tuned brain function for the best in high performance living. That’s my experience. Make it yours too.
Mindfulness: Moment By Moment
Mindfulness keeps you in the here and now and that is where you are strongest. All we have is Now so being mindful lets you stay where you have your experiences and lessons — your feelings and thoughts. Being mindful moment by moment is your challenge.
Mindfulness: 3×2 Framework
Mindfulness is like your map through life. Using this 3×2 Framework helps busy people get a handle on their mindfulness, as well as people with ADD, people who’s kids or partner has ADHD, or people with ADD Moments. Use the Framework to help your incremental changes and progress move you toward the person you want to be in the life you want to live.
Mindfulness: Presence Thieves
Being mindful and present is increasingly challenging for everyone, especially those with ADHD. What are your challenges in staying present and being mindful? Have you identified the presence thieves in your life?