How to break the pattern of recurring overwhelm so you can move forward

In this episode, I am talking about the power of awareness and the depth and layers of it when it comes to awareness of ourselves, our environment, people, and situations.

I am excited to do a deep dive into this concept and over the next few episodes, I will share other concepts that really provide a framework on tapping into your full potential while using your ADHD as your best asset.

In this episode, I talk to JP Holecka, CEO & founder of a Digital Agency in Vancouver Canada.

He shares his story of late in life diagnosed with ADHD while running a successful Digital Agency. Prior to his ADHD diagnosis, he felt so alone and “deficient”, after his diagnosis he felt a huge relief that he is not alone and there are ways to manage his brain. For a while, he took no action about his ADHD diagnosis until he reached a tipping point in his business. He chose to take control of his brain and decided to take action. He reached out to me for coaching and today he shares his transformation.

JP talks about how he tackled his Dyslexia diagnosis in his 20s and saw the benefits of choosing to manage it and decided to choose to learn tools and strategies to manage his ADHD. He shares his experience before and after coaching and the change of his perception around his approach to task, leadership, goals, and focuses on how to make the most of his strengths.

JP is now thriving with his ADHD and is a more inspiring leader to his team.

As you listen to this episode it is important to note that the tools and strategies that JP talks about are his very unique way of managing ADHD. We got there by working together and helping him see his true strengths and how he can use them to make the most of his day.

Through ADHD Coaching, you can come up with your own unique solutions to manage your brain, understand how to use your strengths to achieve your goals, and remove the negative self-talk that holds you back from getting the results you have been striving towards.

More about JP Holecka, Founder and CEO of POWERSHiFTER

JP heads the vision and strategic direction of POWERSHiFTER. For over 30 years, he has been solving design, communications, and digital product challenges for clients such as Energizer, Deloitte, Mattel, TELUS, FitBit, and Western Union.

How do you manage to stay on track when the shinny new ideas/projects come knocking on your door?

I used to get in the trap of getting derailed often when I was in corporate life and sometimes it worked out and other time I was left with regret. I used to jump ship often until I learned about my brain and why I was doing this often.

I wanted to share my views and learning with you on this as I now see this in my clients that I coach and when they really dig deep and understand how to manage “jumping ship” or “oooh shiny new thing” it becomes a game-changer for their professional role or business.

Please know that I am not saying we should avoid shiny new things, there is a more strategic way to go about it, and also once you understand why your brain is craving it you can make a solid decision to either jump or step in with caution or avoid it altogether. Cause you are the master of your brain after all and you should be calling the shot not your brain or other people’s shiny new ideas/projects.

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!

Earlier this year I sat down with Michael Liss to hear his inspiring story of late in life diagnosis of ADHD at 50.   There is so much compassion and raw honestly in his story.  I encourage you to listen to the entire episode as I am sure many of you will relate to what he shares and will be inspired by how he has moved beyond his ADHD diagnosis. 

Join my Quantum Thinkers’s Mastermind, managing ADHD does not have to be done all on your own. Lean into the support of our group. 

In this episode, my friend and colleague Brooke Schnittman talk about the importance of community, especially for those of us who may have never felt like we belonged because we are a little different. There is something absolutely magical when I found my ADHD community, for the first time in my life I truly feel like I can be myself and I know that I have a kick-ass community that has my back and gets me.

We hope you enjoy this episode and also we wanted to share with you a little about our community and how you can join us.

To find out more about the program that Brooke mentioned visit ***3C Activation Group Coaching***