Finding your passion does not always equal happiness!

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A!  If you want to join us live on Zoom, go to adhdrewired.com/events to register!   You’ll also find the bonus questions & answers from this recording and can listen in ad-free on Patreon when you become a Patron at $5.00 a month or more by going to adhdrewired.com/Patreon!   Resources / Topics / Honorable Mentions Article: “Sailboat Metaphor” on scottbarrykaufman.com Article: “Why we Need to Evolve Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from a Pyramid to a Sailboat Metaphor” by Kyle Kowalski Book: “No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model” Topic: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs   Topic: Sailboat of Needs Topic: Motivational Interviewing Website: Chat GPT at chat.openai.com Website: IFS Institute (Internal Family Systems) at ifs-institute.com Website/App: Goblin Tools at goblin.tools 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information so you can join us for our upcoming winter season of Coaching & Accountability groups in January 2024!

In this episode, Rick Webster returns to the show! Rick has expertise in real-estate, entrepreneurship, and ADHD!  He has managed many domains in the financial and real-estate world, and in the last couple of years, he’s put his focus in helping people with ADHD make better peace and better “cents” of their finances.  As CEO of Rena-Fi, Rick brings perspective, vision, and passion to an area of life he considers foundational: Personal Money Management.  His motto has always been, “It’s not just business; it’s personal.” Eric and Rick share stories about paying the ADHD tax and its larger umbrella, the effects of chronic long-term stress, ways to change self-talk and self-identity to get things done, challenges we may encounter when developing financial habits, the shame we can feel when working on our finances, and forgiving ourselves.  Then, Eric and Rick talk about behavioral finance, why money management isn’t just about willpower, the impact of looking upstream, creating reminders and cues, and saying “no” to improve performance.  Finally, you’ll hear Eric and Rick talk about maintenance costs, other costs of homeownership, planning for upcoming maintenance, and the three primary reasons why the ADHD tax continues to happen. Learn More about Rick Webster at   Other ADHD-tax stories shared on this episode: “I have paid the ADHD tax so many times. I’d love some recommendations on extremely simple/easy budgeting tools.  A lot of budgeting books have too many steps.”  “I always do my taxes at the last possible minute and don’t know if I do them right, and I always owe a lot.”  “Didn’t pay a speeding ticket, license was suspended.  Pulled over again – arrested driving with a suspended license.  Then, I paid much more than the original speeding ticket for a lawyer, speeding tickets, and additional charges for reinstating my license.  “I pay the ADHD tax every day.  Paying late-fees, re-buying things I can’t find, spending impulsively, paying for things I’m not using because I didn’t cancel them or forgot to return them in time, expedited shipping because I didn’t order something on-time, ordering take-out because I wasn’t organized enough to have dinner ready, etc.  How can I be triggered to think things through at an early enough time that I can follow through in a way that lets me avoid the ADHD tax?”  “I’ve paid the ADHD tax on rush-orders. I’ve paid more on expensive repairs to my vehicles/yard equipment/house appliances, instead of the regular preventative maintenance that would’ve prevented the damage in the first place.  I have paid out-of-pocket costs for my meds because my insurance lapsed or I never sent in the reimbursement forms for what would be covered if I do the extra steps.  How do I know what the preventative maintenance tasks are on my big or expensive things (often appliances)? I feel like I “should” do many of them myself.  Would I be paying an ADHD tax by paying people to come do some of these easier tasks for my appliances because they at least know and will at least call me when they are due?” Hear Rick Webster on !  Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens  

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A!   In this episode, you’ll hear from the ADHD reWired podcast team and ADHD reWired coaches talk about coaching, how to set yourself up for success when engaging with a coaching program, and what can help people grow.   Then, you’ll hear the panelists talk about why making friends feels difficult as adults, ways to make connections in different areas, the false narratives we tell ourselves about planning, the importance of scheduling fun things in your calendar, and that it’s ok to not get everything done.   You’ll also hear the panel share tips on building motivation, the barriers to getting started, and how activating a task can help with motivation. The panelists also discuss the benefit of reframing, defining our principles when creating rules for ourselves, and why understanding our values can help us make better decisions.  Finally, you’ll hear some tips on creating a more conducive remote work environment, the importance of communicating with your household when working from home, why a lack of structure can cause us to struggle, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to coaching.  Some of the Questions & Topics in this Episode: What makes one coaching program different from another?  What does it take for coaching to succeed, and how does one have to approach it to ensure or increase chances of success?  What scenario would make coaching not successful?  How does coaching interact with traditional therapy?  Are there grants available to cover potential business expenses when building a business channel?  There doesn’t seem to be any grants listed specifically for ADHD.  Do you have any tips or advice on finding more adult acquaintances after graduating university?  I know scheduling helps, but when I make a daily plan, I feel the structure is too restrictive, and I rarely stick to it.  Any tips?  What can I do to have motivation?  How do I give myself consequences for not following through on the things that I want to do?  How do I create a conducive remote work environment? I live in a small home and need space from my family.  I have recently retired from a CEO position and am now having trouble navigating the day-to-day.  I assume that’s not uncommon?  I was recently diagnosed and I have been struggling with deadlines and multitasking my whole life.  Can you talk about how coaching works and what benefits people get from it?  I’m figuring out how my brain works.  Resources & Honorable Mentions: Website: Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens  

This week, Eric is joined by Abby Wilson!  Abby runs a global facilitation, mediation, and coaching practice from her beloved home in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  She uses methods from the design field–A.K.A. design-thinking–to help individuals navigate career change, and helps organizations to lead with empathy, reframe challenges, and generate ideas.   Her ADHD diagnosis, 8 years ago at the age of 35, is one of those before-and-after life moments that so many of us can probably relate to, and is thrilled to be connecting the dots between design-thinking, her life’s work for the last 12 years, and her naturally “curly” mind!  Abby’s “curly” mind has lived in 6 countries, she has birthed a child she adores, has worked in many governments, and has enough letters after her name for a competitive Scrabble game!  In this conversation, you’ll hear Eric and Abby talk about design thinking, how it’s beneficial for ADHD folks, the messiness of the creative process, and solving for the right problem.  You’ll also hear about how having a lot of great ideas also means having a lot of not-so-great ideas, prioritizing, risk-taking, the importance of specificity, and why design-thinking is helpful for relationships, tapping into your creativity, and more.   Get in touch and learn more about design thinking and Abby at her website: abbywilson.com   Questions/Topics:  [00:01:10] Introducing Abby [00:02:41] What is design thinking?   [00:04:11] Abby on teaching iterative process, roadblocks faced during design thinking, and the messiness of the creative process  [00:05:13] Eric shares a real-life example and asks Abby about applying design thinking to this situation [00:07:09] The most basic framework for a design process is…  [00:08:04] The “Rose, Thorn, Bud” method for being endlessly curious and to start to add an additional layer of meaning  [00:11:35] Abby on finding a specific problem-definition and methods to help reframing  [00:13:55] What do we do when one idea spawns 20 other ideas?  How do we go back to the original idea when we get sidetracked with other ideas? [00:21:27] A discussion on prioritization: What do we do first? How do we say no?  [00:22:56] The sweet spot of ideas and Abby’s favorite method for prioritization: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix [00:25:42] Eric asks Abby, “What kinds of questions do you ask yourself when you’re trying to identify a ranked order of importance?” and defining “importance”  [00:27:21] Executive function use, observing energy and emotional investments, and emotional temperatures [00:32:17] Why do design thinking skills matter?  [00:37:12] Whether it’s a boss, a partner, a friend, or a group: How do we help them understand the value of design thinking?  [00:39:50] What do we do and how do we communicate when ideas happen “too fast?” [00:42:33] Abby shares a book recommendation [00:43:27] Connect with Abby and closing thoughts Resources: Article: The Double Diamond: A Universally Accepted Depiction of the Design Process  Article: Framework for Innovation: Design Council’s Evolved Double Diamond at designcouncil.org.uk  Article: Rose, Thorn, Bud at luma-institute.com Article: The Importance/Difficulty Matrix at luma-institute.com Book: The One Thing by Gary Keller Book: What Do You Do With an Idea By Kobi Yamada Website: Stanford d.school at dschool.stanford.edu    Honorable Mentions: “…the things that we have captured become a participant in the conversation.”  “We can only define our challenges effectively if we’ve got good data and observations.”  “We don’t have to kill our darlings.”  “Design thinking helps us harness our natural curiosity and creativity to bring new things into the world.”  🌟 Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network by going to adhdrewired.com/podcastnetwork 🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired’s award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!

In this episode, Eric is joined by Danielle, a fresh graduate as of spring 2021. She has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and was very recently diagnosed with ADHD. She has learned a lot about herself after receiving her diagnosis, especially after listening to ADHD reWired’s podcast. She felt some imposter syndrome after receiving her diagnosis, but has fully embraced it after learning about the symptoms and how it presents for her. In this coaching conversation, you’ll hear about Danielle’s biggest struggle with feelings of rejection while being a high-achiever, the thoughts that went through her head through the feelings of failure, and shares some of the ways she calms her mind in the midst of racing thoughts. Eric and Danielle also touch on topics of emotional regulation, uncertainty, feeling out of control, and you might even relate to some of the inner dialogue she shares throughout today’s show! Then, hear Eric and Danielle come up with a few ideas that might potentially help with some of the feelings of rejection, distorted thought patterns, and ways to pause when the mind begins to spiral.  In this Episode, you’ll hear Danielle answer some of these questions: How did you make it through your Masters degree without knowing you had ADHD? Being diagnosed with ADHD: Was it a surprise or a relief? What were some of your common struggles going through higher education? Was some of the rejection you felt  possibly driven by perfectionism?  With your new ADHD diagnosis, have old stories started to change, or do they still have a bit of emotional sting to them?  What’s the internal dialogue that’s guiding what you say and do?  Do you internalize or experience any types of feedback that leans even a little bit on the negative side? Is there something you might be able to do that you think you might enjoy that you would definitely “not be good” at?  What if you did something you felt wasn’t your best work?  If there were some patterned thoughts around the things that tend to send you in that spiral, if those patterned thoughts were like headlines, what would those headlines be?  Is there anyone you know, whether work or personally, who can give you regular feedback about something where you could also – at the same time – communicate how you’re rating yourself while you’re getting the feedback?  Is there anything else you think would help you in either handling uncertainty in certain situations, or being able to receive feedback that might be difficult to hear while being regulated? 

In this episode my co-host Sherri Cannon and I talk about some of the common challenges professionals with ADHD can face in the workplace. they often want to know if they can be themselves – you know –bring their best work,  make their best contribution inside an organization.
When they look for answers,

they usually focus on masking,
laboring in private,
working in unorthodox yet highly effective ways for them, but they often do it out of sight for fear (from valid life experience) that they’ll be viewed as…weird

They focus on these lifelong “workarounds” much more than they do on proactively making their environment work for them. In the long run, this will turn to lead to overwhelm, burn-out, or even resigning without much notice.
We address questions such as:

Can you really accept your ADHD and be able to work to your best potential?
We know the importance of being authentic but how do you do it in a way that comes from a place of strengths?

You can connect with Sherri Cannon and learn more about her, visit: https://www.beyondthebellcurve.life/
Please don’t forget to leave us a comment and also rate the show, I am always looking for ways to improve each episode. 
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