(originally published May 13, 2011, updated August 7, 2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We all want to minimize our challenges, of course. No doubt, our lives would just flow better if there were fewer boulders in the way. After all, you\u2019re reading this article because that is what you want. Specifically, you want to minimize the detours you need to take because of your ADHD challenges. What if you could use your strengths to manage your ADHD?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though, like many who are trying to figure out how to manage their ADHD, you may assume you are broken. If this is your perspective, you might be focusing your time and energy on trying to fix yourself. Because that\u2019s what you do when something is broken. You fix it, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the thing I want you to know. You\u2019re not broken. Your brain is just wired differently, and so you may operate differently than your neurotypical peers. That\u2019s OK. But if you are focusing on fixing yourself, you are swimming upstream. And, because you are fighting the current, you are likely taking time and energy away from doing what is essential to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if you did it differently? What if you instead, as Peter Drucker, influential management thinker, suggests:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, concentrate on your strengths. Put yourself where your strengths can produce results\u2026 One cannot build performance on weakness, let alone on something one cannot do at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sure, you also want to acknowledge your weaknesses, including your ADHD challenges. And learn how to manage them as much as necessary. So you don\u2019t get caught in the rapids. But don\u2019t start there. Start by acknowledging and using your strengths<\/strong> as much as possible to reach your goals<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready to see how you can do this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, you\u2019ll need to first start by knowing your talents. Because, contrary to what some believe, you aren\u2019t born with strengths. Though you are endowed with certain talents<\/strong>. \u201cTalents are naturally recurring patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that can<\/strong> be productively applied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The operative word is \u201ccan<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because I know there may be factors beyond your control that can get in the way of applying your talents. For example, we know racism and other forms of oppression can make it harder to use your talents to reach your goals. Given there may be barriers that are out of your control, how might you develop your talents?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you may be able to easily come up with viable ideas<\/strong> for new businesses. You also may enjoy and find it<\/strong> easy to strike up conversations<\/strong> with strangers. That is, you\u2019re talented in these two areas. Do these talents help you reach your goals? Maybe. Maybe not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, socializing easily does not necessarily mean you are a talented networker. Networking requires specialized skills beyond just having a fun conversation. So, if you enjoy socializing with people but aren\u2019t a great networker right now, you might decide to strengthen your networking skills <\/strong>by learning new skills and knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, you might decide it is just too challenging to<\/strong> follow through on some of your ideas<\/strong> by yourself. Maybe you anticipate that you\u2019ll find it hard to persist when the initial novelty wears off. So, you might decide to use your talent of coming up with great ideas and collaborate with someone else<\/strong> to carry the ball into the end zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The critical point is that you need to know your strengths and weaknesses<\/strong> to make these kinds of decisions<\/strong>. So, let\u2019s see how you can identify your strengths. Since I\u2019m guessing you know your weaknesses all too well, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sure, you should definitely go after your dreams. And, as I noted above, you might decide to get help in areas where you are relatively weaker. But before you design the road map for reaching your goal, consider the true story of Rudy Ruettiger, the subject of the movie\u00a0Rudy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rudy applied to Notre Dame 3x until he was finally accepted. He then practiced with the team for two years. But it wasn\u2019t until the final game of his senior year that he was allowed to play. He ended up making the game-winning tackle of the opposing team\u2019s quarterback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No doubt, this is an inspiring story of perseverance. I wonder, though, what he could have accomplished if he had put that much effort into an area where he had natural talent instead of spending years and thousands of hours of practice to be able to play one game for Notre Dame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you know what your talents and strengths are, you are in a better position to make choices that will work best for you in reaching your goals. Who am I to say? Maybe this was time well spent for Ruettiger. In any case, once you know your talents and strengths, you may:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trick, of course, is to identify these assets and how you can use them productively to reach your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I know you\u2019ll want to start your discovery process by taking one of the various \u201cstrength finding\u201d assessments<\/strong> or reviewing the results from ones you\u2019ve taken in the past. \u00a0No doubt, you\u2019ll likely find some interesting data points to help you in the process of discovering your strengths. Just don\u2019t treat the results as the final arbiter<\/strong> of your strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because we know the results can change depending on the day that you take the test. \u00a0For example, as I pointed out in How to Find the Ideal Job for ADHD Adults<\/a>, studies have shown that 50% of people who take the MBTI get a different score when they retake it 5 weeks later. And the MBTI is not effective at predicting people\u2019s success in different jobs. Hmmm\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever your reasons for trying to figure out your strengths, you\u2019ll want to get the whole picture. And to get the complete picture, you\u2019ll have to do some work beyond taking a test to uncover your talents and\/or strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step you want to take to get a complete picture of your current talents and strengths is to clarify what you know about yourself. \u00a0One way to do this is to reflect by answering the questions below<\/strong>. Yes, I know, this is going to take a fair amount of time and energy. But you may be surprised by what you find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can answer these questions in one sitting<\/strong>, or you may take a couple of weeks<\/strong> as you observe yourself in action. If you are not able to complete this exercise on your own, ask one of your \u201cfans,\u201d such as a friend or family member, to help you. Who would you ask?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After reflecting on your talents\/strengths, you may be curious enough to go beyond these questions to learn more about your talents\/strengths. What are other questions that might help you uncover your talents and strengths?<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if you could leverage some of your ADHD symptoms into strengths to use to reach your goals? Would you still want to banish those traits entirely? Probably not. Depending on the context, some of your ADHD symptoms can provide you with strengths. That is, if you can identify and nurture them.\u00a0 As Thom Hartmann, author of ADD Success Stories<\/em>, notes, ADHD is considered a \u201ccontext disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of some of the notable people who have ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps found his place in part because of his\u00a0tenaciousness. Sometimes we refer to this as the ability to hyperfocus. As he told\u00a0Sports Illustrated<\/em>, \u201cI\u2019m just different in the water. I just feel at home in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ty Pennington of ABC\u2019s\u00a0Extreme Makeover: Home Edition<\/em>\u00a0said he was \u201cuncontrollable\u201d as a child unless he had a crayon and a piece of paper in hand. His\u00a0creativity\u00a0and\u00a0high energy, hallmark symptoms of ADHD, worked well for him in his former role on the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How about the rest of us? We don\u2019t need to be Olympic medalists or famous TV personalities to harness the positive aspects of our ADHD. I credit my willingness to take risks, persistence, creativity, and energy for my business success. The same is true of many of my clients who succeed because of their ADHD traits, not despite them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to your ADHD symptoms, a strength can be a weakness and vice versa depending on the context. But, unless you identify them, you may be missing opportunities to use your ADHD symptoms to your advantage. So, as you reflect on your talents and strengths, consider the strengths you have that come from your ADHD. In what context(s) can they serve you? You can also check out Lara Honos-Webb\u2019s book,\u00a0The Gift of Adult ADHD, to explore more about the gifts of ADHD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, if you\u2019re interested, you could explore some of the assessments below to gather more data points. But, as I said above, just don\u2019t let the results guide your decisions. Rely more on what you know about yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n VIA Survey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are interested in exploring your character strengths, the VIA Survey of Character<\/a> is a great place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kolbe A Index<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kolbe A Index<\/a> measures your instinctive way of doing things, your strengths. You can use this information in both your personal and professional life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DiSC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The DiSC<\/a> is another assessment that gives you insight into your behavior and personality, designed primarily to help you understand yourself and colleagues in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MBTI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By finding out your personality preference as measured by the\u00a0MBTI<\/a>,\u00a0you can make decisions about your current environment and future goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n StrengthsFinder 2.0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\u00a0StrengthsFinder 2.0<\/a>\u00a0is also a popular assessment to uncover your strengths. You can find a free strength assessment along with a 20-minute video by Marcus Buckingham, co-author of Now Discover Your Strengths,\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now you may be wondering, \u201cAfter I figure out my strengths, what do I do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, as much as you can, put yourself in situations in your work and personal life where you can apply and use your strengths. Sure, ideally, everyone would just get to do those things that play to their strengths. But, of course, that just can\u2019t happen, at least not all the time. You can be more strategic<\/strong>, though, and try to spend more time and energy doing tasks that draw on your strengths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do this, you could:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just because you have been doing things a certain way up until now doesn\u2019t mean you have to continue that way. What could you change up?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theoretically, you could do many things you want, given the right amount of persistence, dedication, and time. But if you think the\u00a0quality\u00a0of your\u00a0journey\u00a0is just as important as reaching the finish line, then using your\u00a0strengths\u00a0along the way is critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because when you are operating from your strengths, you are more in flow, and life is just easier. As Dr. Seligman, founder of the Positive Psychology Movement, notes, using your highest strengths leads to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wouldn\u2019t that be nice? Once you know your strengths, you can make choices that will work best for you in creating the life you want.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" (originally published May 13, 2011, updated August 7, 2020) We all want to minimize our challenges, of course. No doubt, our lives would just flow better if there were fewer boulders in the way. After all, you\u2019re reading this article because that is what you want. Specifically, you want to minimize the detours you need to take because of your ADHD challenges. What if you could use your strengths to manage your ADHD? Though, like many who are trying to figure out how to manage their ADHD, you may assume you are broken. If this is your perspective, you might be focusing your time and energy on trying to fix yourself. Because that\u2019s what you do when something is broken. You fix it, right? Here\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[725,727],"tags":[10,279,343],"class_list":["post-3548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adhd-symptoms-diagnosis","category-blog","tag-adhd-coaching","tag-adhd-strengths","tag-adult-adhd"],"yoast_head":"\nTalents + Skills + Knowledge = Strengths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advantages of Knowing Your Strengths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Don\u2019t Start with an Assessment to Figure Out Your Strengths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Identify Your Strengths by Externalizing What You Know<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Turning Talents That Come From ADHD Symptoms Into Strengths<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How You Can Gather More Data Points<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where Could You Make Different Choices?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Imagine The Possibilities!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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