If you can't focus properly, this is something I want to share with you…
This is sorta personal because most people do NOT know this about me…
And I’m sharing why I can’t focus properly so it may help you or someone you know.
I also see how MANY of the people I coach, consult and train can’t focus either.
I witness my clients in their everyday lives. Many distracted, restless, and sometimes challenged with self-esteem…
The reason you can't focus properly could be as simple as Adult ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)
And by writing this, I hope it helps more people by shedding some new light on the subtypes of Adult ADHD and why they can’t focus properly.
As you may have guessed, I’m not an expert in the field of adult ADHD.
But I just purchased Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder
for my own understanding of ADD and why I can’t focus properly.
UPDATE Feb 2020: I also bought the new book: Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
From these books, I did my own adult add diagnosis. And I'm really happy I did. Because my biggest challenges are with organization, procrastination, failure to finish – (I call the 80% syndrome), and so on…
And here's the kicker. I’m a business coach who TRAINS people on how to overcome ALL of that and more.
If I told you that I’m a master at it, I'd be lying…
Despite that I continue to struggle with organization and procrastination I have been able to get a LOT of it under control. Just by identifying my “problem.”
I tease myself all the time when I'm speaking to groups about my self-diagnosed ADHD.
We chuckle as I joke about my days and how I'm “all over the place”…
More often than not, 50% of the room or higher will nod their heads in alignment with my “symptoms”, because they too can’t focus properly…they “get it”…
In reality, it's not a funny (ha-ha) subject because MILLIONS of people struggle with ADHD and can't focus at work.
And most are un-diagnosed.
First off, Adult ADHD isn't a “disease”
– it's not something “bad”
It doesn't mean something's wrong with you.
And for a long time, ADHD was heavily associated with “hyperactive” kids…
Many times, people with ADHD do well early in school, and then drop off later – or visa versa. I included
People in these situations have had the WRONG DIAGNOSIS: “dumb”, “stupid”, “they just don't get it”, “need to try harder”, and so on.
I know I sure felt the last two once I hit grade 9. I had to go into BASIC math (lower than standard BTW). And I STILL failed. Numbers and I don't line up.
Am I an idiot? Am I dumb?
Far from it. Just because I don't “get” math, doesn't mean I can't operate a business, pick up computer programs as I wrote them, or coach people to succeed in their businesses for example.
It didn't mean I couldn't start and rock out a real estate investing business (which BTW is ALL about math).
So I want you to know, if you've been “labeled” a certain way all your life just because you can’t focus properly, maybe it's an indication of how brilliant you really are…
Believe it or not, ADHD has some advantages…
One being able to HYPER-FOCUS. And if you do it, you know what I mean.
Or perhaps you “daydream”, lose interest in something very fast, you don't get around to doing the things you want to do…stuff sits around, but you've lost interest, and you move on to something else.
There are SO many symptoms of ADD (although they have themes) that anyone can be labeled incorrectly.
So I wanted to learn more about my own challenges and why I can't focus properly by reading Driven to Distraction (Revised)
Adult ADD is very real; and for millions of people whirling around from project to project, struggling to express a part of themselves that often seems unraveled, they may have “challenges” such as these:
Adult ADHD Symptoms
– trouble getting organized
– having a sense of underachievement
– always procrastinating and having trouble getting started
– having many projects going simultaneously
– an intolerance for boredom
– easily distracted, trouble focusing
– trouble in going through established channels, following proper “procedure”
– impatient, low tolerance for frustration
– impulsive, either verbally, or inaction (like spending money, changing plans, new careers, opportunities, etc)
– tendency to worry needlessly
– a sense of insecurity
– mood swings (good mood, bad mood, back to good in the space of a few hours for no apparent reason)
– restlessness (nervous energy – tapping fingers, feet, shifting position while sitting, etc)
– Tendency toward addictive behavior
– Chronic problems with self-esteem
– Inaccurate self-observation
Although this is a “suggested clinical observation” list to diagnose Adult ADD – it's accurate enough to understand how “DISTRACTED” you (and me) really are, why you can't focus properly, and if you possibly have ADD.
Again, I want to stress that it's not a “bad” thing…
According to the book
More than likely, you will identify with 1 or 2 of those…heck, maybe even a few… (my wife looked through the book and marked off a few), which means you probably don't have ADD.
However, if like me, and millions of others, you identify with at LEAST 15 of those symptoms (more detail in the book) combined, welcome to the club!
NOW you know why you can't focus properly.
Because like I said, if you ask ANYONE if they “procrastinate” or something like that, the answer is more than likely “yes”.
Even though I’m not finished reading Driven to Distraction (Revised)
I’m not saying this will CURE me or you…but it WILL help you identify why you can’t focus, and how NORMAL you are.