One of the aspects of a Whole ADHD life is what I like to call our Ecology. Otherwise known as your space, environment and/or your surroundings. If you’ve read any of my past blogs, Instagram posts or articles, you already know how much I love using nature terms (like Ecology) in my Coaching work.
That’s because there is so much inherent wisdom in nature. We can learn so much about ourselves, about diversity, our innate strengths, needs, and how to exist in the world in a way that feels good to us.
Nature gives us the bigger perspective that we were born exactly as we’re supposed to be, with a unique set of strengths and needs. Just as we wouldn’t dream of berating or judging a Wild Mustang because it doesn’t pull a cart of ale casks so well, neither should we judge ourselves for not being able to focus on an Excel sheet. Nature in her intelligence and wisdom suggests a more expansive, self- accepting view of our place in the world and by example shows us how to create the conditions we need to thrive.
As anyone who has ever cared for a plant knows, each one has an innate set of unique needs and conditions in which it thrives. If those conditions are not met and the plant begins to die or wither, we don’t blame the plant and say;
‘Something’s wrong with this plant! Throw it out, take it back, it’s defective.’
What we do instead is try to understand what it needs and work to change its Ecology.
We alter its location, give it a new pot, add some fertilizer, maybe a boost to its soil, give it more or less light, humidity and so on…
In other words we become attuned to it’s needs and proclivities. We also adapt the surrounding conditions to meet its needs, resulting in a thriving, happy plant!
When you think of people with ADHD through this lens (which I do and recommend you do too), it makes total sense that the difference between the right conditions and the wrong conditions is in our own Ecologies. Whether that’s your home, your room, the office, your car or your neighborhood, it’s the difference between whether we thrive or fail.
By us becoming attuned to our needs and understanding which conditions make us happy or shut us down, this is a vital part of our success. It’s also well worth spending time and effort to bring this about.
Generally (at least when we are not totally nerding out on something and in hyper-focus mode), the mind of a person with a ADHD is more innately wired to daydream on the shape of clouds and consider all the truly important questions of life like;
‘Are snails born with their shells on, or do they grow them afterwards?’ 🙂
Without any external interventions, this is the state we would all prefer to inhabit most of the time, and there’s nothing wrong with this type of state or type of focus (it’s after all the type of thinking that brought us assembly lines, e-tickets, electricity and manned air flight).
But, if we are to thrive in our modern lives, we need to be able to sit down to do focused work on things we’re not interested in. We need to show up for appointments, file taxes, find our car keys, get dressed, pay bills, feed ourselves (and so on).
For all of these essential tasks the ADHD mind needs, the right external conditions make it possible for us to move through our days and complete these tasks with relative ease.
When we have the Ecology of our lives set up for our unique needs, we can navigate our days with purpose and focus, which comes from knowing not only what we have to do, but how we can do it best and where anything we need for these tasks may be.
The whole intention of this blog is to strongly emphasize (in case you weren’t already aware) the crucial need for attention to this part of our lives – As I say in this article, Ecology is one of the Six Aspects of a Whole ADHD Life.
So, if you have any ambition, if you want to change and move forward, show up differently and begin to take on new challenges, or maybe live more peacefully and calmly, then taking care of the Ecology of your lives is foundational to create the conditions you need to get there.
This isn’t a blog with a list of best organizing practices.
Though that’s super valuable information, in my experience, the conditions you need are so often unique to each person’s life that I tend not to recommend specific approaches (unless they already have adaptability to tweak them to your own needs built in).
What I do recommend is that you invest time, energy and money into making your Ecology a priority.
If that means hiring a professional organizer, designer, Coach or co-opt an accountability buddy to help you purge, then that’s what I’d wholeheartedly encourage.
Go create your own Ideal ADHD Ecology and see how you’ll flourish!
What changes in your Ecology make a difference to your functioning? I’d love to see your comments or questions.