ADHD and Celebrating Successes – It’s Good for You!
What did you do right last week? Where did you fall short? Which list is longer?
Unfortunately, as is true for many adults with ADHD, you may find that the latter one is longer. This may be a result of your poor memory, as well as your tendency to focus more on what you did wrong than what you did right.
Is this true for you?
You may not be used to celebrating when things go well. But celebrating, even the smaller victories, is important to your success.
In fact, in their book, Delivered from Distraction, Drs Ned Hallowell and John Ratey list Celebrate Victories on their Top Tips for Adult ADD. They note that,
…it is important to allow the victorious moments to get into your system so that they can sustain and nourish you.
So, how does celebrating your victories sustain and nourish you?
It Is Fun!
For starters, celebrating is fun! It fills you with energy, positive energy that can help you in all areas of your life.
I know you are working hard at figuring out how to manage your ADHD. But the process of managing your ADHD does not always have to be so hard.
Have fun along the way. Start with celebrating when things go right!
Self-Esteem
If you think you have not yet reached your potential in part because of your ADHD, your self-esteem may have suffered along the way. If this is true for you, you can start rebuilding your self-confidence.
When you celebrate and remember your accomplishments, you build up your sense of self-efficacy, your belief in your own competence.
And you need this sense of confidence in your own abilities in order to take on “big goals” in the first place.
So, what did you do this week to contribute to your forward movement on your big goals?
Motivation
When you have evidence that you can succeed you are also more likely to persist in trying to reach your goals.
So, as you wend your way forward, take time out to celebrate your accomplishments. This will be time well spent.
Did you send that email that you were afraid to send?
Did you spend quality time with your kids, even though you felt overwhelmed with work?
Did you continue to take action toward completing that big project that seems so far from being completed?
It is the consistent actions you take that will allow you to succeed. It is a big deal! So, give yourself credit where credit is due.
It will help you move forward.
When Thing Go Awry
Being able to recount your victories is especially critical when you hit the inevitable speed bumps along the way.
As you encounter challenges and, yes, even failures along the way to trying to reach your goals, you may at times feel like giving up. You may question both the worthiness of your goal and your ability to reach it.
At moments like this stop and remind yourself of those times when you persisted when the going got tough.
These memories can help you get back on the horse more quickly. You can say to yourself:
“I’ve been there, done that and I can do it again!”
ADDed Perspectives Bottom Line:
Your long term success is dependent on your willingness to take time along the way to celebrate the smaller successes.
So I hope you can start doing that today!
Next Step:
Do you want support and strategies to work with your ADHD that also works with your budget?
Check out a group just for Adults with ADHD.
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