Episode 35: A Different Perspective

Taking Care of Ourselves

Hello, and welcome to Thought Shift Thursday and episode 35 of ADHD Life in Real Time.

If you have ADHD, you have probably heard that getting enough sleep, moving your body, and eating well can make a big difference in how you feel throughout the day. At least, I know I have heard it, and I have experienced it myself.

When I do not get enough sleep, I have a hard time focusing on just about anything.

Exercise is also important to me because I want to stay healthy, keep my body strong, and be ready for the fitness tests I have to take every year.

But honestly, exercise is not something I usually enjoy.

Most of the time, I exercise because I have a fitness test coming up or because it is something I enjoy, like dancing or hiking.

So when life gets really busy, exercise is usually the first thing that goes.

I stop exercising because I feel like I have three million other things to do and not enough hours in the day.

When Life Gets Busy

And lately, life has been really busy.

Between volunteering, recording this podcast, building my business, getting ready for graduate school, maintaining my home, working, and everything else I have going on, exercise can quickly move to the bottom of my list.

Then I discovered something that surprised me.

The Exercise I Did Not Expect

I actually enjoy delivering packages, which is quite the shocker because I really do not like driving.

I drive because I have to, not because I want to.

But delivering packages gives me so many things that I do enjoy.

I get outside.

I get some sunshine.

I get to walk, and I really enjoy walking.

One day, I walked almost five miles.

I get to play my favorite music in the car, which makes the driving more enjoyable.

I also get to see parts of the city that I have never seen before.

Since I live near the mountains, I sometimes drive through really beautiful areas.

I have seen deer and bucks, mountain views, beautiful gardens, and some very large homes.

Putting Those Beautiful Homes Into Perspective

Sometimes, I imagine what it would be like to live in one of those beautiful homes.

But then I think about how much cleaning I would have to do.

I think about how much work it would take to take care of the garden.

And I think about how long it would take me to drive into the city.

And Colorado gets snow, so who wants to drive those roads in the snow?

Then I remember how much I enjoy living close to almost everything I need.

I also love how I feel after a route.

I know I moved my body.

I know I got a lot of exercise.

And I get that same good feeling you have after exercising without having to make exercise my main goal.

So even though driving is not something I would choose to do for fun, somehow I really enjoy delivering packages.

When the Plan Changed

So that day, I accepted a route on my phone and drove to the warehouse to pick up the packages.

But to my surprise, the building was locked, and I could not get the packages.

I even tried to reach out to technical support, but of course, nobody answered.

Apparently, the service was down.

Go figure.

I was frustrated because I had driven all the way out there and could not complete the route or even start the route.

I was also disappointed because I was not going to earn that extra money or get the exercise I had been looking forward to.

My Attitude Started to Change

But as I drove away, I turned on some Christian hip hop and started dancing in my car.

I was living my best life.

And somewhere during that drive, my attitude started to change.

I began putting the situation into perspective.

Yes, I was disappointed that I could not deliver the packages.

But there was also a thunderstorm coming.

If I had been able to pick up the packages, I would have been driving around and carrying packages in the middle of the storm.

Instead, I was able to donate plasma.

For me, donating plasma is a win-win.

I get to help people who need plasma, and I also earn a little extra money.

By the time I got to the plasma place, I realized something.

I had a better attitude than I had when I drove to the warehouse.

Looking for the Silver Lining

That reminded me why I look for the silver lining in every situation.

For me, looking for the silver lining simply means asking:

“What’s one good thing I can find in this situation?”

It does not take away what happened.

It does not take away the feelings you have in that moment.

What it does is help you focus on the good instead of only focusing on what went wrong.

And when you start looking for the good, your attitude often starts to change too.

Gratitude Can Change What We Notice

It is a lot like writing in a gratitude journal.

Research has found that gratitude practices can support our mood and well-being.

When we take time to notice the things we are thankful for, it can become easier to notice more of the good things around us.

Looking for the silver lining works in a similar way.

When you find one good thing in a situation, your whole perspective can shift.

And that shift can help you let go of some of the feelings you were carrying in that moment.

One Good Thing

So here is my challenge for you.

The next time you end up in a situation that is not so great or you are having some not-so-great feelings, look for one good thing.

It may not change what happened.

But changing what you focus on can change how you carry that experience with you.

Thank you for spending a little bit of your day with me.

Until next time, I will see you for Faith Friday.

Until then, I hope today’s story helps you create a little more clarity, feel a little more calm, and have a little more confidence. 💜💚