A.D.D. and mixed greatness. For many years growing up I was always known for doing crazy things and for being somewhat spastic. I got good at many things but never gave them an opportunity long enough to really be great at them. My exception was skateboarding. I was a skate-or-die kid back in the ’80s and ’90s. The general view of the people who exhibited such amazing skills through the city streets was that we were losers. We were yelled at for riding our skateboards, so I believe I internalized it and returned with a vengeance of rebellion. We are a psychology show so go with it. I am Doctor, trust me. (ok not a board-certified one of course but work with me here) I began doing very risky things and pushed the envelope in every area of my life. A.D.D. has many good attributes, but most don’t know about them.
“In the middle of chaos lies opportunity.”
– Bruce Lee
Being young and not paying attention.
In elementary and part of middle school, I was an A, B, C student, except for a couple of times my grades appeared to be an F on the report cards. I was also an artist. (wink, wink) My mom moved my sister and me from Puerto Rico to Atlanta, GA in the late ’80s and then the sh*t really hit the fan. We came from a private federal school with a well designed and peaceful academic structure, to a public school that was struggling with its accreditation and moral compass. I thrived despite having some unknown disabilities in elementary, but going through puberty and then into middle school, my struggles became way more challenging. My attention span was minimum unless it was something I enjoyed. I had a great attention span for the opposite sex! Squirrel!
Moved to a whole new place.
Starting Eighth grade in Atlanta was like culture shock. My brain was all over the place with little guidance from the teachers. My antics in class, I believe made the teachers view me as a misfit so I was disregarded as a good student. Additionally, I didn’t seem to have the understanding that I needed help with my studies and really never sought help. Transitioning into High School I was insanely creative, intuitive and a great problem solver, so I did very well in the classes that I enjoyed. These were the hands-on classes such as Industrial Arts, Art and Body Shop. I became a leader in each of these classes and inspired others to be creative. I enjoyed having a crowd around me, brainstorming and cutting up.
Discovery of the struggles.
Years and years went by with the turmoils of life and one job after the other with no end in sight. Every job I had ever had I put 110% in. I brought so many things to the table such as creativity, ingenuity, humor and undying sense of wanting to shine. I excelled very quickly with the things that I liked, however; procedural types of work with documents and such I struggled with. I needed the ever-changing environment to thrive. The 9 to 5 type grind killed my soul. I wanted the grind that made me happy and fulfilled.
After the self-realization that I wanted more out of life than a job, I made the executive decision to work for the Federal Government. I got the coolest job ever. The process of getting in was insane and there were so many investigations and interviews that I had to go through. I took many competency exams as I was to be in the weapons division. One of the big test results threw up some very big red flags and they referred me to a psychiatrist to be further evaluated. After three days of intense testing, the psychiatrist divulged that I had Attention Deficit Disorder. I am like, “what the heck does that mean?” The shrink gave me the vaguest description ever by saying that my brain was all over the place and that he was prescribing me some meds to get my brain in check.
Clarity and resolution.
One of my greatest characteristics that I have discovered over recent years is that I come up with some pretty amazing ideas. Ideas of ingenuity, of practicality, and of usefulness have always surfaced, but I never finished putting the larger ideas together. The concept never made the production line, so they were just pretty much wasted. I wasn’t good at setting and achieving goals, until now.
These days I now have the cognitive ability to recognize my strong suits along with some of my shortcomings. The importance for us to be able to recognize these character traits within ourselves will be key to setting and achieving goals. Having any learning disability doesn’t give one the right to use it as an excuse, but it will give them the knowledge on what areas they need help with. Learning disability, no disability, no matter just go chase what you want to accomplish. I now have a good mindset.
Isolate the problem and attack it!
risk:
a situation involving exposure to danger. (potentially 🙂
What are your thoughts? What super cool abilities do you possess? Go on and brag! Tell us your story.
*****Please respond to the questions here with us so we can learn and grow. The good and the bad will help others recognize successes and failures in our own lives. Thank you so very much!******
