Entrepreneurs with ADHD have to balance dark and light - a Hyperfocus highlight episode

Hey, new listener, thanks so much for checking us out. And there's a good chance you have adhd, so I quickly wanted to ask you to please follow this podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or whichever app you're listening to this on. Don't leave it until later because you will forget. Thank you. Squirrel. Squirrel. Welcome to this hyperfocused highlight episode. Let's get you hyper focused on your business growth. Squirrel. Hi, I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach. And welcome to the Weenie Cat. Squirrel. There's still a crap ton of shame that comes along with being diagnosed with ADHD or having ADHD negatively impact your experience humaning with other humans. And there are actual mental health implications for having adhd. So when we are super sensitive to perceived rejection, that actually sets us up for a higher level of depression, rates of suicide. You also have this whole book of F ups that you carry around with you, proving that you're bad at showing up on time, that you're not good at getting work in on time, that you forget things, and all of a sudden it's attributed to something that is, quote unquote, wrong with your brain. That's hard. There's a lot of shame and a lot of stigma that comes along with all that. And today I really want to spend some time talking about that stuff because yes, absolutely, there are parts of being an ADHD preneur that are amazing. You know, we have greater capacity for creativity, we get incredible ideas, we can connect not just from A to B to C, but from A to N to z to to D3, double X something. I don't know. We also come up with really weird metaphors sometimes, which I think is kind of fun. But it's important for us to also tend to the darker underbelly of ADHD and check in with ourselves that we're not falling into depression, that we are taking care of our mental health, that we are dealing with the anxiety that comes up often, and that we have support systems around us that will help us do so. So first let's talk about your relationship with yourself here. And let's talk about that book of evidence that you carry around and that you add to about how you're so shitty at a bunch of stuff. And when I talk about this book, I mean all the times that you were late to pick someone up, I mean the times that you forgot birthday presents or wedding presents to bring to people. I personally remember my dear friend Aaron got married to his wife Maria. I went to their wedding and I forgot their wedding card with the money I was gifting them in my suitcase. And I kept telling myself for over a year that I was going to send it. By the time I sent it, they had had a baby. So I included it in the package for the baby. But I still kind of carry around this evidence that I'm bad at giving gifts to people because of that one instance. It's very common for women with adhd, especially those who get diagnosed later in life, that they actually come from being a straight A student. They're hyper overachievers in all the ways and oftentimes their achievements are what they use as evidence of their own self worth. And if there's ever a moment in their life where they can't achieve at the level that they have in the past, they take an incredible hit to their self confidence and their belief in their own self worth. Now. That was not me. I was not a hyper achieving straight A student in high school or college. It just wasn't in the cards for me. But I've had several clients who come from that background and it's just as hard, it's just as hard as coming from a background where you thought you weren't good enough, where you weren't smart enough. The first step here is both forgiveness and not forgiveness. There's forgiveness for all the things that you've done up until now that like wasn't perfect, that was because of your adhd. But also there's acknowledging that there is nothing to forgive. Just you being here, just you humaning the way you've been humaning makes you deserving and worthy and lovable and someone worth celebrating. Just you existing right here as you are. Any missteps you've ever had, that doesn't take away from it, how much you've achieved, that doesn't add to it. You are perfect in all the ways that you could be perfect. Just being who you are right here, right now, in this moment. So forgive yourself and also tell yourself to go yourself and say, you know what? I don't need to be forgiven for any of this because it's just who I am and it's okay. And of course, as humans who are humaning with other humans, whenever we do make a mistake that impacts someone else negatively, say we were late to pick someone up, or we forgot to give them their wedding present or whatever, we get to make that up, we get to apologize, we get to own the impact, we get to make it right. And if we have the right relationships in our lives. Those people are going to be understanding. They're going to allow for us to make it right with them. They're not going to punish us for getting it wrong. Squirrel if you're ready to stop being a weenie and actually run a business that makes money, then go ahead and book a Generate Income strategy call with me by going to weeniecast.com strategycall on this call, we will talk about your goals, your dreams, and your frustrations in getting there. And if it's a fit for both of us, then we can talk about different ways to work together. Join the weeniecast Hyper Focus community and unlock a whole world of support. Get direct access to me in exclusive calls. Turbocharge your network with unlimited referrals and boost your productivity with Sprint calls and accountability sessions. But that's not all. We're talking expert talks, masterclasses and more. Register now to get in front of the line for this at the introductory price of just $77 per month. It's time to elevate your entrepreneurial game. Let's do this together. Go to weeniecast.com hyperfocus all one word. That's weeniecast.com hyperFocus Join the Weeniecast hyperfocus community and unlock a whole world of support. Get direct access to me in exclusive calls. Turbocharge your network with unlimited referrals and boost your productivity with sports, Sprint calls and accountability sessions. But that's not all. We're talking expert talks, masterclasses, and more. Register now to get in front of the line for this at the introductory price of just $77 per month. It's time to elevate your entrepreneurial game. Let's do this together. Go to weeniecast.com hyperfocus all one word. That's weeniecast.com hyperFocus.