images and text copyright 2016 Brenda Roberts Shaw, Mansfield Center, CT, USA

How does it happen?  The overflowing, overwhelming messes I mean.  Stress is ever-present enough in the society that the details don’t always matter anymore.  People who are “responsive-dominant” thinkers (see below), can easily find things getting out of control when stressed.

Then how do we get to a better place?  In my case, I combined what I learned from many directions to create a model for understanding how to use my strengths in organizing myself, rather than trying to stay organized using methods of others.

INTRODUCTION:  Got ADHD?  I think it simply means that our appetite for stimulation is stronger than our appetite for order.  When our appetite for stimulation is met, we may be able to think systematically and organize with the best of them.  Not only that, we have great talents and skills to draw on for organizing when we get to do it our way.  I call us “responsive-dominant thinkers,” as opposed to the majority of folks who are “systematic-dominant thinkers.”

Systematic-dominant thinkers like to do work before play, while responsive-dominant thinkers need work to be play.  We may be rewarded more by the process than by the completion of a task, but we can still finish stuff if we find gentle ways to make the finishing as fun as the creating.

I’m really talking about relative strengths and weaknesses of responsiveness and executive functions.  Rather than being limited to ADHD, this model can be helpful with weak executive functioning from various causes, including age-related and disease-related causes, such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease, and likely brain injury.

As I explain what I’ve found useful in future posts, it may help you to think about your own life freshly.  If you had to describe your life on one page, what would that look like?  I mean what do you love?  What are your dreams?  What are the basics that keep you going?  Who are the people in your life, or the people you want in your life?  How do you fit in the world around you?  What fulfills you, and what will be your legacy?

MY LIFE ON ONE PAGE:  I think of my life in three main areas, shown in the three circles below:  WELLBEING, CONNECTION, AND FULFILLMENT.  WELLBEING is my personal stuff — from food, clothing, shelter, to inner peace.  CONNECTION is all the people in my life, from my son and brothers, to extended family, friends, various communities, and the world.  FULFILLMENT is where I find pleasure, joy, meaning, my legacy.  I love Nature, writing words and music, growing plants, moving toward my integrity and sustainability in my lifestyle.  I love to go on outings and trips with family and friends.  I love to sing and dance and create art despite a very low level of skill!

The overlapping circles below remind me that every part of who I am and what I do is part of my wholeness.

Some day, I’ll likely share My Life on One Page and how it helps make my life better.

In the meantime, do you want to take a risk and imagine the content of your own life-on-one-page, and express it in words, drawings, a collage? Having a clear vision for life can be a challenge, but living without expressing it could leave the good stuff out of the picture…