This month, I’m exploring the idea of power. I was thinking about one of the things I learned from my mentor coach, Jille Bartolome…that money, time, and energy are all forms of power.
That’s a fascinating concept, isn’t it?
We can all spend money, time, and energy. Anyone can all save money, time, and energy. We can also waste money, time, and energy. It’s all about how we use our power. So what happens when your ADHD affects how you manage these resources; ADHD and power?
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Money
Whoever has the money has the power. Isn’t that true? Whether it’s in business, politics, or family, it seems whoever has money has leverage. Think about when you get a raise at work. The money seems to go up with added responsibilities, prestige, and power. It can be a real struggle though when additional responsibilities fall outside of areas of interest and expertise.
That sometimes happens when someone with ADHD gets a promotion. Sure, the money is better, but now what’s expected of them can include responsibilities in areas of weakness like organization, prioritization, and time management. How can you best manage how you earn, spend, and save money?
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Time
We all want more time. One of the biggest complaints is that we don’t have enough of it. Yet, everyone has the same 24 hours in their day. How we use time is what differentiates us from one another. However, there can be a distinct disadvantage in savvy time management due to time-blindness, a characteristic commonly found in many with ADHD.
Think about someone you admire. How do you spend, save, or waste time in comparison to them? Learning systems and structures that will work with the unique way you think, rather than against it, is a great area to work on with an ADHD coach.
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Energy
Physical, mental, and emotional effort constitutes our energy; everyone has an innate rhythm. Some folks are sedentary sitting at a desk for hours at a time utilizing their minds. Others can physically go, go, go all day. We all have personal thresholds for various activities that create the patterns of our days, years, and lives. Additionally, with ADHD, your levels of motivation are naturally affected due to the lower levels of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. This has an enormous impact on how you move in the world.
So, how do you manage your energy? Are you busy, busy, busy? What do you have to show for all of the exertion? Sometimes we spend a lot of effort or emotional energy on things that don’t yield any fruit. At the end of the day, you can be left feeling exhausted. How can you better harness your energy?
Lastly, there are occasions when we give our power away to others. We buy what we hope will be a quick fix only to discover later it didn’t help at all. We spend time with people who bring nothing to the relationship but negativity or even worse, suck the life out of us by constantly taking and never giving. In the end, it is your power and how you use it will define your life. With care, creativity, and intention, you can design a life you’ll love.
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