Archive for March, 2010

As a 9th grader I was focused on being different. I came to school feeling like a mistake and so I acted like a mistake. I was “hyper-focused” on the way I felt until one day my teacher said, “Ben, SNAP OUT OF IT!” Encouragement comes in weird packages, and in a variety of ways “SNAP OUT OF IT” may seem harsh, but it was exactly what I needed to hear and was exactly what I needed to do.

When my teacher said this to me, it was not said in anger but rather it was said with hope and to get my attention. Her one desire was to see me snap out of my funk and begin to move forward. The best part was she also told me she would help me along the way. She backed up her words with actions!

A teacher once asked me, “Ben, how do I teach a student who feels like a mistake?” Only one thought came to mind: Relentless Encouragement! You cannot force a person to want to get better, but you can hope through Relentless Encouragement, your vision will become their vision, your hope will become their hope; and in time they too will see the light of possibility and potential.

The ADHD-er is a lot like a sponge, but instead of water, we need to be soaking up encouragement. When our life is saturated with encouragement we can function at a higher level, and better battle the struggles of ADHD. Without a source constant encouragement our desire to work can dry up and lead to great frustration on many levels.