The podcast explores barriers to journey thinking in individuals with ADHD. They discuss attachment to outcomes, challenges to journey thinking, navigating identity and time constraints, and the emotional component of bureaucratic tasks. They emphasize the importance of embracing journey thinking, being curious about experiences, and finding resourceful ways to approach challenges.
Being overly attached to a specific outcome can hinder the coaching process, so embracing a journey thinking mindset allows for more flexibility and curiosity in exploring experiences.
For individuals with ADHD, the tendency to fixate on a single path or outcome can be exacerbated by cognitive inflexibility, making it challenging to see alternative options, but coaching can help them recognize these attachments and engage in more perspective-taking and flexible thinking.
Deep dives
Journey thinking and its importance in embracing change
Journey thinking is crucial when it comes to embracing change, both for ourselves and for our clients. It involves recognizing that the process of change is not about a specific destination, but rather about the journey itself. While having goals and aspirations is important, being overly attached to a specific outcome can hinder the coaching process. ADHD barriers such as resistance to new awareness, difficulty taking action, and challenges in learning can actually be turned into valuable resources in the coaching process. Developing a coaching mindset, similar to the concept of growth mindset, is essential in journey thinking, allowing for flexibility and curiosity in exploring one's lived experiences.
Challenges of attachment to a specific destination
Clients who are strongly attached to a specific destination or outcome might struggle in the coaching process. This attachment can impede progress and limit problem-solving abilities. The desire for certainty and the belief that reaching a certain point will solve all problems can hinder flexible thinking. For individuals with ADHD, the tendency to fixate on a single path or outcome can be exacerbated by cognitive inflexibility, making it challenging to see alternative options. The coaching process aims to help clients recognize these attachments and engage in more perspective-taking and flexible thinking, illuminating possibilities and empowering personal growth.
Recognizing emotional components and shifting perspectives
ADHD can exacerbate challenges in journey thinking due to cognitive inflexibility and a tendency to seek certainty. However, through coaching, individuals can gain awareness of their emotional attachments and how these impact their perspectives. For example, one client had difficulty dealing with bureaucratic tasks and felt demotivated by them. Through coaching, they uncovered the emotional component behind this aversion and found ways to connect these tasks to their bigger goals, creating momentum and motivation. By examining their relationship with these tasks and shifting their perspective, individuals with ADHD can find greater resourcefulness in the moment and embrace their own capacity for problem-solving and personal growth.
In this episode of Translating ADHD, Ash and Cam continue to explore the concept of journey thinking and how it relates to ADHD. They focus on illustrating specific barriers to journey thinning and how ADHD can elevate a destination or fixed mindset. Ash and Cam discuss how ADHD individuals often get attached to certain outcomes, identities, and beliefs, which can hinder their ability to adapt and make positive changes - key to any coaching relationship.
They highlight the importance of embracing journey thinking, which involves being curious about your own experiences, recognizing emotional components, and finding more resourceful ways to approach challenges. The episode features several client examples to illustrate the benefits of this mindset. They also discuss how coaches can benefit from a journey thinking mindset.