I had one of those "aha!" moments the other day that Oprah is always talking about. Like many of you, I have Attention Deficit Disorder. And, as we all have, I have mostly learned to keep my symptoms under control and to recognize the times when they are giving me trouble.
Last weekend, however, was not one of those times. I belong to a business mentoring group and am in the midst of a learning experience designed to help me improve my website. I had some information to learn beforehand, and then my mentor sent me an email with several introductory questions to answer.
One of these questions had to do with the different types of websites one might build. There were five different types of sites, and I was asked to choose which category my site belonged to. Eight emails later, after three incorrect answers, my mentor finally just gave me the correct one.
The question was childishly simple and yet I couldn't answer it. The reason lies not in my IQ, but in my ADD. You see, I had been waiting to start this course for over a month; I was excited to begin and excited about the possibilities. Somehow in my mind the question "What kind of site do you have?" became "What kind of site do you want?", and I couldn't for the life of me see that distinction.
I wasted a lot of time and effort on one simple little thing, but it taught me a lesson I needed to remember. I have always said that, as part of their continuing education, teachers should be asked to occasionally learn something outside of their comfort zone so that they can be reminded of how difficult learning can sometimes be. I guess, in a similar manner, ADD coaches need the same.
Brenda Nicholson
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