A Visualization Exercise on Managing Expectations for Adults with ADD

As adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), we often find ourselves excited by new ideas and plans, but overwhelmed by what it will take to reach the goals.

Many of my coaching clients find themselves in this situation. They make a decision to make a change - a big change. Sometimes it's about moving up in the world, like finding a new and better home. Sometimes the change is about pursing a dream, like taking a passion for art and turning it into a career. And sometimes the change involves a mental shift to become a better person, like learning to overcome anger.

No matter what big and exciting change is on the horizon, we can sometimes find that our impulsivity has us not only wanting - but expecting - the change to happen much quicker than is actually possibly. We have unrealistic expectations of what we are able to accomplish when. When this happens, disappointment, lack of motivation, and even feelings of failure, are quite common.

When one of my clients finds them self in a situation like this, I take them through a visualization exercise that I call "The Temple." The following directions will allow you to use this exercise in your own life.

The Temple: A Visualization Exercise

Step 1: Pick the Goal

Pick a goal that you are excited about - a change you really want to make.

Step 2: Relax

Sit back, relax, and close your eyes. Focus on your breath going in and out, and allow worries and concerns to be breathed away...just for a little bit.

Step 3: Visualize a Temple

Create - in your mind - the vision of a beautiful, peaceful temple. It is your temple, and it can be anywhere. It can look any way you like. Get a very vivid image of this temple in your mind.

The temple is your goal. When you reach your goal, you will reach your temple.

Connect with your goal. What will it feel like when you reach that goal? Think of the emotions you will experience. Think about what it will feel like to be in that temple.

Step 4: Visualize Your Steps

Now imagine that your temple is being raised into the sky. As your temple rises, stairs appear. The stairs to your temple are steps to your goal.

Ask yourself, what are the steps that I need to climb in order to reach my goal? What has to happen in order for me to reach that goal?

Are there any steps on the way to your goal that you have already achieved? If so, visualize yourself climbing the stairs to your temple.

Step 5: Check-in With Yourself

Do this exercise on a regular basis. Each time you take a step towards your goal, visualize yourself climbing a stair to your temple.

Understand that some steps will be easy to climb, and some will be a little harder and will take more time. Even though it may seem like you've been working a long time and not getting anywhere on your goal, don't lose sight of the fact that if you are climbing the stairs, then you are making progress.

When you get impatient and frustrated about your progress, remember that life in itself is a journey. Growth and personal progress don't happen in the temple, they happen on the way to the temple.

Jennifer Koretsky is a Professional ADD Management Coach who helps adults manage their ADD and move forward in life. She encourages clients to increase self-awareness, focus on strengths and talents, and create realistic action plans. She offers a 90-day intensive skill-building program, workshops, and private coaching. Her work has been featured in numerous media, including The New York Times Magazine and The Times (UK). To subscribe to Jennifer's free email newsletter, The ADD Management Guide, please visit http://www.addmanagement.com/e-newsletter.htm

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Coaching Information:

Related Articles

Personal Core Values: Your Key to Success and Happiness
Each of us has our own set of personal values; these are the things which we believe are important, which motivate us and to which we give priority. If I asked you what your personal values are, the chances are that you would struggle to find the answer.
Your Responsibility
The other day I decided to skip cooking dinner and ordered fast food, and I ended up finding an insect on it. My husband and I were shocked, grossed out, disappointed, and I do not know what else.
Coaching for Results
He's a very successful sales manger who craves results. He can't be bothered with people who don't produce.
Success Coaching - What Bill Gates and You Should Have In Common
He was just a teenager, but he was already displaying the powerful habits that would one day make him a billionaire.I had to dart down to Atlanta on Monday for a business meeting with a partner of mine and grabbed a new book to read on the plane.
How To Give Criticism Without Bruising Egos
As responsible employers, parents, and friends, we have an obligation to correct the mistakes of other people in order to enhance their personal success. The task before us is how to correct a deficiency without damaging the delicate ego that can sometimes get in the way.
How Can Sceptics Get the Proof They Need
Are you one of those folks that needs to figure-it-out all the time? Are you one of those Law of Attraction students who catches yourself saying things like, "I wonder how this is going to come to me?" or, "What do I need to figure out so I know what to do next (to manifest what I desire)?" Attention Law of Attraction Students!Stop trying to figure out where/how/when your manifestation is going to come! It's not your job!Here's a great tool that will help all of you 'figure-it-outers' reduce your need to figure it out. Those of you who are thinkers need to see it or know it before you can fully accept that The Law of Attraction exists and is working in your life.
Success at Work : People Skills : Complaining
Do you know an individual at work who is a chronic complainer? Are YOU a chronic complainer? People don't like complainers. Listening to a chronic complainer gets people depressed.
Unleash Your True Potential
Some time ago I attended a birthday party and met a young guy who just happened to be 30. I say young because when you're 47, that is a young age!He told me about his career in a major corporate company where he's been working for the past 3 years.
Choosing The Right Coach
Coaching has become a very popular way for people to get the ongoing support they need to accomplish their goals. However, choosing a coach can be tricky.
Choosing The Perfect Coach
So, you're ready to start coaching. You either have some issues that you think a coach can help you overcome, or you just think it's time for a quality of life tune-up.
Live With An Attitude Of Gratitude
Imagine for a moment one of those nights when you just can't fall asleep and you have to get up early the next morning for a very important meeting of which you are the keynote speaker. Your alarm clock goes off early in the morning waking you from what little sleep you had.
Friends?
I met my friend when we were in graduate school, and we enjoyed hanging out together outside of classes. After receiving our degrees, we both left school to live in different states.
Home For The Holidays
In my husband's family, family members send Christmas cards to other family members (parents to children, brothers and sisters to one another, etc.) even though the family always spends time together at Christmas for a meal and gift exchange.
How to Choose the Right Coach for You
So you want to hire a coach but with so many choices it's easy to feel overwhelmed. How do you find the coach that is right for you? It can seem like a daunting task so here are some guidelines to help you make the right decision for you.
Coaching Skills
IntroductionThe question for leaders in organizations today is how do we go about unleashing motivation, facilitating idea creation, promoting information flow and go beyond being Number One? How do we distance ourselves from our competitors? We cannot relax and take our success for granted. Our competitors are fierce and anxious to take back market share, produce the next blockbuster product, or invent some new technology to better serve customers.
The Non-Conscious Mind at Work. Harness it for Your Success
Thoughts are real things. As soon as you realize how to control your thoughts you are on your way to making vast changes in your daily success.
How to Jump-start Your Emotional Health
You've probably heard the expression: "It's not what you're eating. It's what's eating you!" This well-known saying reminds us that the thoughts we entertain can have an impact on our health.
Throw a No-Heat Party for the Planet
Is it really possible to have loads of fun, and help the planet at the same time? I remember the first No-heat party I went to. It was on the coldest night of winter that year, according to the Farmer's Almanac.
Some Business Coaches are in Error
Many business coaches deny the power of suggestion while using it. For instance a corporate inner circle will be told that they have inner conflicts with ethical practice due to the stockholders coming first, the customers coming second and employees coming third.
Buyer Beware: Choose A Business Coach Carefully To Get The Results You Want
Consider this scenario. A colleague suggests you get a business coach.