Don’t Be Like the Ostrich
Do you ever wish you could go back to a different time in your life?
When you find yourself going through a difficult time, do you spend time thinking back to how it used to be before you found yourself in this rough patch? Instead of handling the problem, you try to get lost in a time when you weren’t dealing with this thing in front of you.
If that's you, you are certainly not alone.
No one enjoys when things are hard—especially if you have ADHD.
The Ostrich Technique
Have you ever heard the saying about when an ostrich is afraid, it will stick its head in the sand in an attempt to avoid danger?
It doesn't seem very smart, right? They're really big birds! Just sticking their head in the sand isn't actually helping at all. In fact, it would just make them easier targets for anything that might come around.
Sometimes ADHDers try to use the ostrich technique with similar results.
When something hard or challenging comes along, it can feel like the best thing to do is ignore it and hope it goes away. Unfortunately, the opposite often happens: it doesn't go away, and ignoring it just makes it worse.
Face your fears
Instead of ignoring the problem or hard thing, we need to try to face it. It can be scary. Really scary. But, if you continue to ignore the problem, the chances are good that the problem will only continue to grow and be even scarier and harder to deal with when you finally find yourself face-to-face with it.
Instead, try to pick out areas in your life where you might normally ignore or put off something hard or intimidating. Once you have it narrowed it down, explore the reasons you might usually avoid these things.
After you learn the "why" it can be a lot easier to learn ways to fight the urge to hide, and instead learn how to tackle the hard things.
Your future self will thank you.
You've got this!
Thank you for your time and attention,
Nikki
*Special research note: When I was looking on the internet about the ostrich saying, I learned that their tendency to bury their heads in the sand is a myth! Check it out here and learn a fun fact to share with friends!
