Learning how to pivot with ADHD

An image of a gold and black compass

Hi Friends!

Have you ever tried to do something, and you just felt stuck, no matter how hard you tried?

Well of course you have, it was a rhetorical question!

So what do you do?

Some of us will sit there for hours whilst making no progress, some of us will drop it altogether and chill, and some of us will power through and complete it!

Are you feeling attacked? Don’t be, this is a safe space!

---

Pivot

“ABOUUUUUUUT TURN!” this is what my Flight Seargent used to yell at us during drills. I was in the air cadets during my teenage years, I wanted to be a pilot back then. But that’s another story for another day.

An “about turn” is a military drill command which is a 180-degree turn on a march - if I remember correctly.

So what does an about-turn have to do with pivoting?

“If someone or something pivots, they change direction” - Collins Dictionary

I’ve adopted an ‘about turn’ approach whenever I’m faced with a mental block when trying to complete something. This includes tasks, chores, hobbies, and decision-making.

I believe that when we feel stuck, our body/mind is telling us something. This could be:

• You need rest, pivot, do an about-turn and take a nap.

• If you can’t concentrate, pivot, do an about-turn, and grab something to eat

• If you’re unable to solve a problem, pivot, do an about-turn and break down the problem into smaller pieces.

• If you’re bored of a task, pivot, do an about-turn, and maybe work on a different task.

• If you’re feeling unfulfilled by a relationship/friendship, pivot, do an about-turn, and assess whether you should continue aligning yourself with certain people.

I’m hoping you get the point by now.

---

Let it go

A GIF of Elsa from the movie frozen, singing the song ‘Let it go’

Let it goooooooo, let it goooooo ❄️❄️❄️

Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. I’m a big fan of the movie ‘Frozen’.

Oftentimes, we let a situation or task hold us hostage. We hold ourselves to arbitrary deadlines; we guilt-trip ourselves into sticking with something which no longer serves us; we conform to unwritten rules set by society even though we don’t believe in them; we let perfectionist traits get the better of us.

Sounds exhausting, am I right?

Hear me out. What if we paused, and took the time to listen and then honor how we’re feeling in the moment instead of fighting against it?

It sounds so simple, but how many of us do this?

I get that there will be some situations that are outside of our control. But let’s try to improve in the areas that are within our control.

I don’t have the answers or a list of strategies to share with you right now. But I hope this has given you something to think about.

Remember, “nothing changes if nothing changes.”

ADHD’ers! ABOUTTTTTT TURN!

Rach, with ADHD