If your brain were a car…

My friend Melanie is the poster child for someone who is clearly NOT ADD.

She has long-term goals and works every day to reach them. Her house is always in perfect order, she keeps a little notebook in her purse with daily checklists, and she spends her weekends doing home improvement.

All this, and she still manages to have fun, travel, and relax.

Melanie’s brain’s natural tendency is to plan ahead and be organized. If her brain were a car, I’m pretty sure a “Steady Eddie” would be at the wheel.

In other words, Steady Eddie is the type of person who consults a map before heading out, fills up the tank, keeps his eyes on the road, gets regular oil changes, and makes sure the car is always clean, inside and out.

As someone with ADD/ADHD, that is not always true for me.

We adults with ADD/ADHD have a unique cast of characters in our brains at any given time. And there will always be times when a more dysfunctional character wants to take the wheel. When that happens, they leave Steady Eddie at the curb!

Car? We need a whole BUS!   

Which character drives YOUR bus?

Do any of these descriptions resonate with you?

• Disorganized Derek never clears the old candy wrappers off the front seat and forgets to write down the address of where he’s going.
• Impatient Iggy can’t stand waiting in traffic and has gotten numerous tickets for driving on the shoulder and speeding.
• Emotional Emma cringes in shame when she remembers the time she accidentally cut someone off and got yelled at in the middle of downtown. In fact, she’s avoided driving on that street ever since.
• Helpless Hannah feels lost and just drives around in circles for hours, rather than asking for help.
• Overwhelmed Oscar gets so many directions for how to get to his destination that his brain shuts down. So instead of driving, he pulls over and plays video games.
• Whiny Winnie never feels like stopping to get gas; it’s just too boring! Winnie has run out of gas on the road more than once.
• Critical Calvin is a back-seat driver. He criticizes everyone else’s driving, reminds them of every ticket and fender-bender, and announces all the reasons why you shouldn’t go at all.

If a bus were a metaphor for your brain, which of these characters would most often drive YOUR thoughts and behavior?

That’s important to know, because your main characters influence what most likely derails you, time after time. And identifying them is the first step toward developing strategies or solutions that will work for you.

I’m designing more training and resources to help your brain (and life!) run more smoothly, and I’d love your help. I want to create programs and solutions that address your specific needs as an adult with ADD/ADHD. I’ve created a quiz to get your input into what you need most from me.

Click here to take this QUICK QUIZ to find out who YOUR drivers are!

What was the last thing you couldn't get yourself to do? What character was in charge?

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