A Fresh Start

A Fresh Start

Setbacks, disappointment, and frustration are part and parcel of overcoming obstacles. Everyone has obstacles to overcome. It will help if you develop a plan for overcoming them.

Making a conscious effort to think through issues and challenges using creativity and thought is challenging, especially when we tend to think with our feelings. Write your plan down! Outline specific goals and the steps needed to achieve them. Be as specific as possible. Writing down your ideas is important. It helps you see on paper what your thoughts are. Instead of writing, "I need to be better organized" you could write, "I need to get better organized this way: hire an organization expert, purchase more storage containers, label containers, purchase hangers to color code my outfits, and jot down the order I wish to do these on a list I can refer to often."

Repetition can become tedious when you are explaining over and over the same rule, direction, or request. It is easy to lose your patience in this kind of situation.

There will be times when frustration and disappointment
get the better of you. Managing a household, fulfilling work obligations, and functioning as the "thinking partner" of your child is bound to get the best of you from time to time. Emotions
experienced as uncomfortable or upsetting come with the territory, so strive to
make each new day your fresh start and let go of yesterday's upsets. It is not
easy, but it can be done. Sometimes the negativity associated with ADHD can be worse than the disorder itself.

It helps to develop a parenting plan. Write it down. Journaling is an excellent way to get your thoughts down on paper. If that seem to be too much of an effort, simply jot down your plan on a piece of paper and post it in a place where you can add to it or make adjustments as needed. By writing out the goals of your overall parenting plan such as "My child is responsible for doing school work everyday," it helps clarify your intentions, goals, and outcomes.

Some days you may need to pick up from the day before in terms of resolving an issue. Generally, it helps if you can think of each new day as an opportunity to have 24 brand new hours to start fresh, let go of what's gone, and resolve to work toward your goals one by one, while maintaining an attitude of gratitude.