Future You is Counting On You with James Ochoa

12 snips

Oct 23, 2025

In this engaging discussion, James Ochoa, a licensed counselor and author of Focused Forward, sheds light on long-term planning challenges for individuals with ADHD. He emphasizes the importance of treating your future self with compassion rather than pressure, helping listeners reframe their relationship with responsibility. James introduces the reflective tool 11Q Your ADHD, designed to aid self-understanding and progress. The conversation also highlights the need for community and tailored support systems to enhance motivation and foster emotional safety.

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INSIGHT

Future Self Feels Unnatural For ADHD

ADHD brains often lack an active internal evaluator, making future-oriented thinking unnatural.
James says envisioning and resourcing a future self is crucial to build a complete relationship with yourself.

ADVICE

Customize Systems To Fit You

Customize planning and organizational systems to fit your neurodiverse needs instead of copying others.
Treat system-building as ongoing personalization you will revisit across your life.

ADVICE

Accept Your Current State Regularly

Practice ongoing acceptance: acknowledge where you are without labeling yourself as broken.
Use small daily practices like gratitude to counter shame and stay buoyed between storms.

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We love to say it: “Your future self will thank you.” It’s a mantra for hopeful planning, a reminder that the effort you put in now will pay off later. But for people with ADHD, that phrase can land like a challenge you keep failing to meet — because the gap between Now You and Future You can feel impossibly wide.

This week, we welcome back our friend James Ochoa, licensed professional counselor, author of Focused Forward, and creator of the new reflective tool 11Q Your ADHD. Together, we’re digging into what makes long-term planning feel so fraught for ADHD brains — and how we can reconnect with the version of ourselves we’re trying to help.

We’ll talk about the emotional weight of goal-setting, how perfectionism sabotages progress, and why redefining responsibility as self-support — not pressure — changes everything. James highlights how planning isn’t about control or productivity; it’s about compassion. When you treat “future you” like someone worth caring for, you create the emotional safety that makes real progress possible.

We also explore practical scaffolding: tools, community, and systems that “have your back” when motivation dips — because ADHD management isn’t a solo project. Whether you’re learning to forgive past missteps or just trying to make tomorrow a little easier, this conversation will help you find hope and grace in the small choices that compound over time.

And stay tuned — James introduces his new project, 11Q Your ADHD, a reflective experience designed to help you strengthen your internal guidance system and cultivate a kinder, more curious relationship with yourself.

Future You isn’t a stranger. They’re someone you can start taking care of — today.

Links & Notes

(00:00) - Welcome to Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast
(02:14) - Support the Show at Patreon.com/theadhdpodcast
(02:58) - Unapologetically ADHD is OUT!
(04:09) - Introducing James Ochoa
(06:28) - Visualizing Your Future Self
(17:21) - A Sidebar on Trust
(39:34) - 11Q Your ADHD

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