Who's afraid of little old me? Well, you should be.
Ok, I'm really late to the Taylor Swift party, but stick with me for a minute...
As an ADHD professional, you've likely faced your share of doubters and detractors. Well-meaning friends, family, and colleagues who think they know what's best for your career. "You should pursue this path." "You should behave this way at work to get ahead." But as Taylor Swift sings in her defiant anthem "Little Old Me", You don't get to tell me about sad.
Your neurodivergent journey is your own. Your talents, passions and strengths are what should guide your professional choices - not the unsolicited opinions of others who don't really understand what it's like to live and work with an ADHD brain. Research has shown that when we embrace our unique wiring and lean into our natural abilities, we thrive. One study found that adults with ADHD who pursued entrepreneurial careers that played to their strengths reported higher job satisfaction and performance compared to those in more conventional roles ill-suited to their dispositions (Lawrence et al., 2019).
If you wanted me dead, you should've just said
Nothing makes me feel more alive
Swift's fierce lyrics remind us that conforming to neurotypical expectations and masking our true selves to fit in is soul-crushing. It slowly kills our spirit. In contrast, when we courageously live out our professional truth, even in the face of judgment and misunderstanding, we come alive. We access a deep well of resilience, creativity and motivation.
So what if your career path looks different than your neurotypical peers? *Who's afraid of little old me?* Let them scratch their heads in confusion as you **"crash their party"** by doing things your own way.
I was tame, I was gentle till the circus life made me mean
Trying to force ourselves into a neurotypical box inevitably breeds frustration and even resentment. We get fed up with constantly proving our competence and justifying our process. But we don't have to stay locked in that cage. You get to define what success looks like for you. Focus on creating a work life that energizes you and plays to your ADHD superpowers like hyperfocus, out-of-the-box thinking, and a bias toward action.
You caged me and then you called me crazy
I am what I am 'cause you trained me
For too long, ADHD professionals have been gaslit into believing something is wrong with them. That the way their brain works is flawed or broken. But what if the real problem is trying to operate in neurotypical systems that weren't built for us? More and more research is validating the immense value that neurodiversity brings to the workplace (Annabi, 2022). Let's replace pathological self-doubt with radical self-acceptance.
So ADHD professionals, don't be afraid to go your own way. To construct a career and work environment that enables you to be your best, most productive self. You are what you are because of your ADHD, not in spite of it. Ignore the naysayers. They should be afraid - afraid of missing out on the incredible gifts your beautifully different brain has to offer. Be you, unapologetically.
Who's afraid of little old me? Well, you should be.
References:
Lawrence, K. E., Hernandez, L. M., Bowman, H. C., Padgaonkar, N. T., Fuster, M. E., Jack, A. I., & Rypma, B. (2019). Sex differences in self-reported executive function and occupational outcome in adult ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 23(1), 22-32.
Annabi, H. (2022). Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Interests, Issues, and Opportunities. MIS Quarterly Executive, 21(3), 5.