Adult ADHD: Harnessing the Supercharged Brain

0:07Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor podcast. I am your host, Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another podcast episode. And if you're out there and you want to get some text messages from me with some tips and tricks on your mindset throughout the week, and you live in the United States or Canada, text me right now, 512-580-9305. Once again, 512-580-9305. Today, we're going to talk about adult ADHD. Oh my gosh. And we're going to talk about how to actually use a supercharged brain, which if you have ADHD, that's kind of what you have.

0:44And the reason why I think this is so important, I've talked about this in the past. I had a lot of emails the last time I spoke about this, is because so many people hold themselves back because of ADD or ADHD, whichever one you think you might have. and they blame it as if that's the reason why they're not successful, as if that's the reason. Oh, well, I have ADD, so there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to be unsuccessful my entire life. Oh, I'm not where I want to be in life. So it's because I have ADD. I can't do it. Oh, I can't focus. It's because I have ADD. And they use it as like this external thing that they can blame as to why they don't have the life that they want.

1:25But I really believe I've done a lot of research on ADD and ADHD recently. And I think that the way that ADD is talked about is completely false. When you look at it, ADD, attention deficit disorder, deficit disorder. I want you to understand, it is not a disorder, it's a trait. So what I mean by that is like disorder means that the connotation with disorder is probably like something's wrong with me, right? But there's nothing wrong with you. It's just a trait. Like some people are calm. Some people have tons of energy. Some people have curly hair. Some people have no hair. Some people have brown hair.

2:06Some people have blonde hair. Some people have red hair. Some people are outgoing. Some people are shy. Some people are tall and some people are short. But none of those are disorders. They're just traits. Like I'm, for instance, I'm 6 '2". The world is way different for me than someone who's 5 '1". But the world's also way different for me than is for someone who's 7 '4". not one of them is good and one of them is bad. None of them are good. None of them are bad. They just are. So what we need to do is we need to go, okay, this is how I am. And I just work with the cards I've been dealt versus going, oh, well, I have brown hair.

2:48So that's the reason why I'm not successful in this world. I'll never be successful because I have blonde hair. No, It's like, okay, you have ADD or ADHD? Cool. Let's work with it. Not blame it for why we're not where we want to be. Because you can work with it and use it for what it's used for. Because when you learn how to work with it, you'll actually be able to find out that it's a superpower. So what I want you to do is if you think that you have ADD or ADHD, I want you to stop thinking of it as a deficit. Stop thinking about it as something that's holding you back. Society makes it seem like something is wrong with you.

3:26And I'm here to say, that's not true. Because, you know, they think, oh, there's something wrong with me. And then people think that they can't succeed because of it. So then I did some research. I'm like, are there any successful people with ADHD? And I was like, oh, yeah, there are. Richard Branson, billionaire. He has ADHD. Bill Gates, billionaire. He has ADHD. Ryan Gossing, ADHD. Michael Phelps, ADHD. Simone Biles, ADHD. Michael Jordan, ADHD. Another billionaire. Justin Timberlake, ADHD. Jim Carrey, ADHD. We probably could guess that one. Shaq, ADHD. Ernest Hemingway, they think, had ADHD.

4:03And many people actually speculate that Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison both had ADHD based off of what was known about their habits and their traits. So I say that to you because I don't want you to think this is a problem that I have and I won't be able to get the life I have because of it. I want you to think of it as like, oh, it's just a trait and I can work with it and still succeed and create the life that I want. So stop thinking that it's something that can hold you back. You just need to learn how to use it. But you know, it's the way I want you to think of it is like this. Think of basically having a super fast race car for a brain.

4:39Like you have the Ferrari brain. ADHD brain goes super fast and you could think a million things at once. It only becomes a problem when you need to hit the brakes and when you need to slow down or stop or if you need to use it specifically for a reason. But a Ferrari brain, if used correctly, knowing that this is how I am, can be your superpower. And I did some research on it. It's estimated, just FYI, that if you have been told by a doctor that you have ADHD, it's estimated that between 30 to 40 % of adults diagnosed with ADD or ADHD don't actually have it and they were misdiagnosed, that they just need to work on their focus.

5:19So I'm not saying that you do or you don't have it. I'm just giving you statistics. About 30-40 % of adults that were told by a doctor that they have ADD or ADHD don't actually have it. And so they just need to kind of work on their focus. And a lot of people that just are distracted say that they have ADHD, even though they've never actually been diagnosed with it. So let's talk about it. There's a couple main symptoms of ADHD. It's inattention and hyperactivity. And you must know about these and understand what they are and how they work so that you can start to get the benefits from them as well.

5:52If you use them correctly, they can help you have your ADHD become your superpower. And so the first thing is inattention. And so inattention just basically means that you drift away from tasks that don't interest you very much. You know, it's been found that someone, when someone with ADHD finds something that they like to do, they actually have a stronger level of focus than someone who doesn't have ADHD. They call it hyper-focus. So hold on, hold on. This is kind of crazy. We're told that people have this deficit and that they can't focus, but they have found that people who have ADHD, when they find something that they enjoy, they actually have something called hyper-focus.

6:36They can lose themselves in it and they can be so focused and they can just kind of disappear into whatever it is they're doing for two hours, three hours. No one talks about this. So the problem might not be your brain. It might be what you're doing in your life. If you're often distracted, you're not doing something that you enjoy. So maybe, just maybe, if you get distracted a lot when you're doing something, it might be that you just have a very, very intense BS meter for things that you don't like. Ah, this is BS. I'm not doing this. I'm just going to click off and start thinking about other stuff.

7:12But here's the cool part about inattention, though. The kid with ADHD in school, when they're not paying attention, and they're like, they have ADHD, and they're trying to sit still, what are they usually doing? They're usually daydreaming in some sort of way. Teacher's like, hey, Johnny, hello, are you here? And he's like, oh, yes. What was I just talking about? I don't know. I'm not sure. I'm sorry. Usually, they're daydreaming. Your brain is searching for something interesting and exciting because you're so damn bored with what you're doing. And so naturally, that means that you're really good at discovering new things.

7:48You're naturally more creative. And so if you're out there and you have ADHD and you have a desk job where you do the same thing over and over and over again every single day, it's probably really easy for you to get distracted, right? You might notice that your brain is off somewhere because your brain was not built for monotony. Your brain was built for creativity, not the same task over and over and over again. So what do you do? You try to use your brain for what it was built for. And so how do you use this superpower? Well, if you have a Ferrari, you can drive it slow if you want to, but eventually you're going to be like, this is boring.

8:32What do you do? If you have a Ferrari, you use it for what it's used for. Like you drive it the way it should be driven. You find a really nice curved road and you drive the hell out of that car, right? Do the same with your brain. Figure out what your brain was built for and start doing that. And we will be right back. And now back to the show. Explore different subjects. You know, as someone who has ADD, you have more curiosity than the average person. So let your curiosity lead the way in your learning. You might find out that you're really into science or art or history because you decided to explore and you decided to let your mind wander.

9:14Also, it's been found that people who have ADD are very creative and really good at problem solving. So once your brain, if it's jumping from idea to idea, you're likely to come up with some creative solution that other people might not think of. And so your superpower in this situation is actually your curiosity. You know, you can be very curious and you can have these great ideas. And that's a great part of what you have of having ADD is that you have amazing ideas. And you have very outside of the box thinking. You're not really like a put in one place and think inside the box. So you can see things from a point of view that the average person cannot.

9:56And so this really, really helps with problem solving. So that's something that people with ADD should try to do. Try to do more problem solving. Try to be more creative. Try to have more fun. Try to find something where you can love it so much that hyperfocus clicks in and you can just lose yourself in that thing. Because if you do that, that's what your brain is built for. So that's the first thing is inattention. The next thing is hyperactivity, which is like this powerhouse of energy. Hyperactivity might make it hard for you to sit still. But guess what? it's also like having a near endless supply of energy.

10:32My friend Amy 100 % has ADHD. And that woman has more energy than any person I've ever met. When I first met her like 10 years ago, 15 years ago, almost at this point, she would wake up in the morning. Well, first off, she would party until like 3 o 'clock in the morning. And then she would wake up and be at the gym at 8 a.m. to teach spin class. And she would teach like three classes of spin class. Then she would get out. She'd get done. She'd eat some food. and then she'd go out and party again. And I was like, how do you have so much energy? She'd be up until three o 'clock and then she'd be at spin class at five and she'd do three classes.

11:06I was like, this is insane. And then she'd have a ton of energy to go out and party again. And so, you know, she has so much energy, but you know, she also loses her phone at least once a day. That's just known. The amount of times that we've had to go back to a place because Amy forgot her phone at a restaurant happens all the time, right? And so while other people might get tired, you're the type of person where you can just get started. And so this energy can actually be your powerhouse and it can drive you to achieve more. It can drive you to go further. And so you've got to try to make the most of this balanced energy versus being like, oh my God, I've got so much energy.

11:41I can't still, this is a problem. It's like, no, how can you use it for your benefit? So what I would recommend is like, you've definitely got to stay active, like channel your energy into sports, into dance, into physical activities, into martial arts in some sort of way. It's a really great way for you to focus your mind and use your power for good. Also, what I would recommend with all of this energy is to take on some challenges. Like give your brain new challenges to work through. Your brain is creative. You've got more energy. It's more curious than the average person. So allow yourself to be more curious.

12:21Allow yourself to start thinking outside of the box and start thinking things that are different. You have stamina to see things through when other people might give up or might just get tired. And so you've got to see how you can turn it into your superpower. Like ADHD can be your superpower. And so having ADHD is like having a toolbox that's filled with very unique tools. And it's all about how do I actually use them? And so here are some ways to get the most of your superpowers. Number one, first off, if you have it, accept it. Embrace it. Don't see it as some sort of deficit, like there's a problem with you.

12:59I've talked to so many people who have ADHD, and it's so hard for them to stop fighting for their ADHD to be something that's wrong with them. For years, they've seen it as a problem. And when they realize that it's not a problem, it's still hard for them to let go of like, okay, it's not a problem. It's something that I need to contain and I need to work through and I need to use it the right way. It's not a bad thing like you've been told. And that's one thing I really want you to understand. It's a really good thing when you use it correctly. It's just a trait of yours. And so use it to create amazing things in your life, to come up with amazing ideas.

13:33Also use it to find your passion. Like I said, because of the fact that you have, if you do have ADD or ADHD, you have a very low tolerance for shit that you don't like. That's why you get bored. That's why your mind clicks off. That's why you're going off into daydreaming and thinking about other things is because your brain doesn't like monotony and it doesn't like doing something that you don't want to do. And so use your curiosity, use your creativity, use your energy for doing things that you love doing. People with ADHD have a very low tolerance for stuff that they don't like. So just find your passions.

14:07Find things that you want to do. When you're passionate about something, your ADD can help you excel more than you can possibly imagine. So you just might not like the box that society's put you into and that you've put yourself into. You know, ADHD is a sign that your brain is equipped with some pretty amazing features. So I really want you to stop looking at it as if it's something wrong with you, as if it's a deficit, as if, oh my gosh, I wish I were just normal. No, that's not the way that you want to look at it. You want to look at it and go, okay, are there challenges with that? Sure, there's challenges of a brain that doesn't have ADHD.

14:43But what I want you to do is actually start seeing it as a toolbox and a collection of superpowers. You know, whether it's your curiosity, whether it's your creativity, or it's your endless amounts of energy, when you realize that you can use it the right way, when you use it for good, it can help you get so much further along in life. And if there's so many successful people that have created amazing lives with ADHD, you can do it as well. You just got to realize how to harness the superpower of the supercharged brain. So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please share it on your Instagram stories.

15:17Tag me in at RobDialJr, R-O-B-D-I-A-L-J-R. The only way this podcast grows is from you guys sharing it. So I'd greatly, greatly appreciate if you would share it. And with that, I'm gonna leave it the same way I leave you every episode. Make it your mission to make someone else's day better. I appreciate you and I hope that you have an amazing day.