Anyone who lives with ADHD knows we’re dealing with an extra layer of complication when it comes to navigating life. Ignore that at your peril.
ADHD management is a crucial factor in life and financial success. Think, “Know Thyself.”With that, here are three concepts I hope you will find thought provoking, and useful:
You can’t save your way to wealth
Saving is crucial, yes. Living within and below your means is paramount. Plugging the leaks in your money situation is critical. But earning more is the only way to rapidly improve your stability quotient and accelerate your progress. Add to that, having more income is considerably more pleasant than living a life of ordering from the right hand side of the menu.
Examples: Earn & deserve aa raise, then ask for it. Better yet, earn a promotion.Monetize a hobby. Develop multiple streams of income. Produce something of value that someone else would be eager to pay for. Start your own cottage business. Focus on creating income streams, not “one off”, high risk windfalls.
Don’t be the Silly Rabbit
One of the gifts of ADHD is an incredibly wide and speedy peripheral vision for spotting new ideas. But the tortoise almost always wins the race. As an ADHD person myself, I’ve had to learn to slow down. “Slowdown to move faster”, as my coach used to say. Become a completionist. Do one thing at a time, not ten. We must learn to wean ourselves off of our addiction to new ideas. We are unlikely to be financially successful if we squander your bandwidth chasing after sparkling new ideas at the expense of devoting consistent diligence to our existing plans
Example: Set a conservative and manageable a goal of just a few tasks toget complete each day. I have three major categories in my work life … not fifty. If anew idea pops into my head during the day that doesn’t directly relateto one of those three things, I set it aside permanently. It’s a hardthing to do and I still struggle with it, but it’s crucial.
Success with money. Success in life. Not a causal relationship
ADHD comes with many gifts. Conscientiousness isn’t one of them. Externalize conscientiousness. Create and lock yourself into a work and social environment that virtually demands success.
Example: I like to stay in good physical health but I’m not naturallyconscientious about getting to the gym. I have a small group offriends with whom I periodically schedule LONG hikes. I really don’twant to be the last person struggling up the hill. Therefore, I workoutfrequently so I’m ready when the day comes because I don’t want to letmy friends down. They don’t know it but they’re my accountabilitypartners in my health plan. They represent externalizedconscientiousness. “Scaffolding” as Russell Barkley would call it.
What scaffolding can you put in place to keep yourself on track?
Let’s put our creative ADHD minds to work doing what they does best. Solve problems.
Richard Webster, the author of this article, is CEO and founder of Rena-Fi, Inc. His opinions and viewpoints expressed do not necessarily reflect that of Rena-Fi, Inc.
