New Is Always Better
On the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother, the character Barney Stinson only has one rule (which isn’t true he has several “only one rules”): New is always better. Ordinarily, I would not recommend taking life advice from Barney Stinson, but if you have ADHD, new actually is always better.
ADOS
One stereotype of ADHDers I’m not particularly fond of is the “Ooh! Shiny!” stereotype. This is also related to the joke that says ADHD should be called “attention deficit…OOH! SHINY!” Yet, buried within this stereotype is a kernel of truth. Something new, shiny, or moving will catch our attention. In my living room, I have to keep the blinds closed because the window in my living room looks out to my front door and is perpendicular to my couch and TV. Every time a car drives by, I think it is someone walking up to my door. Even if I am focused in conversation with someone I truly care about, movement outside my window will distract me. The new, bright shiny, moving things are a distraction to those of us with ADHD. The new thing captures our attention.
This Is Dangerous
Aside from the obvious danger of being distracted by something new when driving or doing another important task, the danger of being attracted to something new is leaving behind something important. This could be a friendship or an important project at school or work. If we are not careful, the ADHD desire for something new and exciting will hurt ourselves or others.
Make the Old New
The key to avoiding hurting our work or relationships is to take something old and tweak it slightly so it becomes new and exciting to us. For example, if sticky note reminders have worked for you for a long time and suddenly they have stopped working. You might not need to throw out the sticky notes system. You might need to buy sticky notes of another color or create a color-coded system for your sticky notes. A stale relationship might need to be rekindled in some way. The key is to take something that has lost its appeal and figure out how to make it exciting again. This will draw you in and help you focus on what is important.
Today’s Reset ADHD Challenge:
Make those things that have become stale in your life sparkle again
PS If you need help making stale things sparkle again, Reset ADHD is here for you. Click here to learn more.