People with ADHD have some amazing qualities which can come with a flipside. Some of my favorite examples…
We are creative and have a thousand ideas that (FLIP) can mean we jump from one thing to the next and don’t finish projects.
We can be impulsive and not think things through which (FLIP) allows us to take risks and accomplish incredible feats that others would be afraid to try.
Combine all of these amazing features of ADHD and you will understand why my favorite saying about ADHD is:
We build our parachute after we jump off the cliff.
What this means is that ADHD adults have a habit of starting things before thinking them through.
We get an idea; often just a glimmer of something. And, before you know it, we’ve jumped right in. Figuring out what we’re up to, how we’re going to do it, what’s going to happen next as we go.
In other words, careening towards earth and building a parachute as we fall.
But some of us need this pressure. As the earth nears, important details become clearer. We get more productive, too. Building faster. Paying more attention. Getting it all done before we crash.
You probably have oodles of examples of in-flight parachute building. I know I do.
It’s how I became a professional organizer (what I did before becoming an ADHD Coach). On the fly, at a networking meeting. “Sure! I can help you organize your office”, I told the woman.
And, I did it. In the blink of an eye, I started an organizing business without thinking it through. I just knew I had the skills.
Yes, my parachute was a rough design. But, it held. I didn’t crash. And, that was the leap that got me to where I am today. Teaching essential ADHD-friendly symptom, organizing, and time management skills to overwhelmed ADHD adults.
When I do it right, jumping before building my parachute is a smart approach. Of course, it can be stressful. Of course, things don’t always work out as I imagined. But, in my life, the best things have happened because I jumped and then built my parachute.
Let me know what examples you have of parachute building after you jumped! I’d love to hear.
And if this sounds like you, I have some tips here to help:
- Episode 216 of Kick Some ADHD: Stop Empty Commitments
- Commitments, ADHD, and the Pause
- Plugging Your ADHD Energy Drains
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