I’m pretty sure that’s the motto of the Navy Seals. I feel like we’ve all had to be special forces in one way or another in the past few years, especially as ADHDers. I’ve been adapting with my blog but not fast enough. As the peaks and valleys of the pandemic have rolled through, I’ve gone through times of pure survival and times of limited thriving. As I look back over my last few post, I looks like I did some straightforward topics but had the time to do some lengthy writing… then a month or so off. My goal has always been consistency. So, if I don’t have the time to post longer form material, I want to be in touch with those of you who read the blog regularly. It may speak to my competence of ego that I feel I have enough to offer that I should be getting it out into the world, whether in larger chunks or smaller bits.
For the near future, with birthdays, Bar Mitzvahs, vacations, anniversaries… and life on the horizon, I’m going to adapt and refocus yet again. I’m going to go back to shorter tips based posts for a little while. But I plan to post at least once a week, maybe even more. In fact, I’ve been doing a guest gig for a website with some fitness tips. Don’t get jealous. I still love you guys the most. I my cross pollinate and share some of those here.
As we know, exercise is one important piece of the puzzle in managing ADHD. It’s not the biggest piece. I tend to think of it as about 15% or my ADHD management pie chart and closer to 25% or my Depression/Anxiety management pie chart. So, I think I’ll try to drop some exercise nuggets every few days.
We’ll start with this one:
Whenever you’re trying to develop a new habit, routine, or behavior it can be really hard to start slowly. We tend to be all or nothing, black and white thinkers. But that way of thinking usually leads to unsustainable thought patterns and perceptions of failure even when we are succeeding. If you aren’t working out at all, starting to get exercise 2-3 times a week is a huge victory. But without some concrete evidence or a very strict schedule, it can be hard to recognize and emotionally consolidate those gains. It is easy for it to “feel” like it’s not enough.
But many of us are visual creatures. I know I am. Inside my head is a scary place. It’s like a funhouse mirror. Not much is accurately represented. But if I can get stuff out into the real world, where it is tangible, where I can see it, it becomes much more real. So, here’s the tip. Print out a blank monthly calendar. Just put a big, fat, brightly colored X every day that you get exercise. It doesn’t matter how much, what kind, or for how long. (And, this works for any behavior. It could be for a good eating day, going to bed on time, meditating, anything.)
What may not have felt like a great week, or a great month, will likely be surprisingly inspiring when you actually look at it outside of your own recollection. I bet it will inspire you to continue at that level or even push you to do more. Either way, you are better off than you were before. Winning! I’ll post an example of a personal who worked out 2-3 days a week on irregular days and simply kept track of having worked out with no more detail than that. That’s an easy track record for an ADHDers to forget about or be discouraged by. But this picture/calendar looks pretty damn good to me. Makes me want to work out more! This person is a Winner!
Happy Calendaring,
The guy who’s strangely confident in his calves…
… and the abs that he knows are somewhere under that inch of fat.
Standard Disclaimer: In an effort to foil my own perfectionist tendencies, I do not edit my posts much… if at all. Please excuse and typ0s, Miss Steaks, grammatical errors, awkward phrasing. I focus on getting my content out. In my humble opinion, an imperfect post posted is infinitely better than a perfect post conceptualized but unfinished.
”
