I'm ADHD and last month, I began working with a coach and asked to do an exercise called 'Seven Steps to Success.' This exercise asked questions that caused me to think deeply of one habit I wanted to change.
I thought to share what I told my coach.
Step 1: Name a habit would I like to change
As I thought, I felt as though, someone shined a light above my head exposing my angelic halo hovering over my with devilish horns. The habit I need to change most was procrastination. Why do I procrastinate?
Step 2: What are your thoughts and feelings about the habit
• What is it teaching you
• Feel the habit. Do not resist
As an Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) person, procrastination is a decisional choice which leads to daily behavioral procrastination. After I lost my job in 2013, I lost my health care and could not afford to pay for my doctor visits and medication, and the herbal supplements didn’t help. It became difficult to focus because I became inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive. I lost the habit of putting to use strategies of task and time management. This experience taught me that I never forgot the learned behavior in cognitive behavioral therapy.
Step 3: Analysis
• Ask yourself why you behave this way
• List your triggers and responses
• Challenge these thoughts as true or not
I feared my ADHD would take control because I could not get health care after losing my job. I knew I would become inattentive, hyperactive, impulsive, and depressed without my medication.
Step 4: Visualize
• Consider this a transformational change
• List three alternatives to the habit you want to change
• Is there anything you can replace this habit with
I manifested healthcare with a great deal of prayer, mindfulness, meditation, and vision. I pictured myself with healthcare and taking medication, as I carried an old medicine bottle with me. As soon as, I could get health care, I went back on medication and reclaimed my life by using education and training to reduce ADHD symptoms combined with medication. I’m at a point in my life where I can use my improved ability to function, focus, work and learn without feeling overly anxious, stressful, or depressed.
Step 5: Assess the Risk
• Take time to evaluate the habit and develop a new one
• What is the risk in trying each new alternatives
• Risk of not taking action
• What could go wrong
• How serious is this
• How will you know
Medication increases the brain chemicals for thinking and attention; dopamine and norepinephrine. Behavioral therapy helps with daily behavior, such as: monitoring one’s behavior, controlling anger, reflect before action, organizing tasks, completing homework, and working through emotional events. Cognitive behavioral therapy teaches mindfulness techniques and meditation. A person learns to become aware and accept their thoughts and feelings by improved focus, concertation, and adjust to life changes. A really good psychiatrist will teach stress management, routines, lists for different tasks and activities, reminder notes, assign certain areas for keys, bills, and paperwork, and help break down large tasks for easier management. Without these learned behavioral habits, a person will struggle socially, at school or work, and with their relationships. Changing my thoughts and behavior will not be easy. It’s worth the ride to better my life.
Step 6: Be the Change
• Ask yourself what small changes could you make to reap big rewards in the habit you’re trying to replace
It’s important to take one day at a time, in putting to use what I am relearning to stop my procrastination habit. It’s important to practice changing my thoughts and behavior each day.
Step 7: Maintain the Gain
• Start tracking your progress.
Here's to my first EBook.