Using Words to Re-Frame Your Outlook on Life When Living with ADHD

By Springboard’s Laura MacNiven 

The Power Of Words And Success Discussed On Attention Talk Radio

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Dr. Maya Angelou. 

I recently had the pleasure of joining Jeff Copper on his podcast- Attention Talk Radio, where we explored words like success, underachievement, meeting expectations and self-potential in the context of ADHD.  

When diagnosed or undiagnosed ADHD is part of your life, you may have some feelings about words like success, underachievement, and meeting potential.  

You may also have reactions to phrases like “just try harder” or “if you had gotten started earlier, you would be done by now”. 

By taking a few minutes to pause and check-in with the words you (or people around you) are using consciously (or subconsciously) to describe your character, aspirations, and behaviours, you can reduce pressure, cut yourself some slack, and give yourself permission to do things more your way when it comes to reframing your outlook on life.  

Personally, I have always struggled with the word success. It has always felt like a word we use to describe other people’s accolades based on a set of assumptions and external criteria. 

It has never felt like a word that accurately depicts an individualized version of living your best life or showing up as your full self… until I stumbled across a definition of success that I actually liked. 

Dr. Maya Angelou describes success as “Liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it”.  

Now that is a version of the word success I can get my head around. With this definition in mind, I can reframe what it means for me, and contextualize it within my journey.  

Reframing your outlook on life

How Words Can Re-Frame Your Outlook on Life

As we all venture along our own paths, I believe it is vital we use words that feel true and aligned with our values, strengths, wants and desires. By discovering terms that bring us closer to ourselves, we gain momentum, inspiration and find hope amidst the many challenges of living with ADHD.  

By being more gentle towards ourselves and those around us, we grant permission to let go of the tough stuff like blame, shame and missed potential and invite forward looking words like contentment, curiosity and trying differently. 

So, my call to action to everyone – especially if you have ADHD – is to take a few minutes to reframe your outlook on life by asking yourself, what words am I using to describe how I am showing up on a daily basis?   

Life is too short to live by words that pull us backwards. Let’s discover language that helps us move forward, let go of what is not serving us, take charge, build trust with ourselves and feel more free. 

Click here for the full conversation with Jeff and Laura. 

Interested in exploring your journey with focus with other adults? Consider joining our fall online course for adults .