IMHO, many AuDHD women are committed and focused and On A Mission, whether consciously articulated or not.

So one of the most frustrating experiences is reaching a point where you can’t see a workable way forward.

Urgh!!!  I hate that.   I just want to get the thing done, but for whatever reason, right now it does not seem possible.

What I have learned is that at that point, often the most helpful thing is to relax your focus and allow yourself to be distracted for a while, trusting that you’ll find your way onward again in perfect time.

This week, I went on a one day adventure in my home town of Brisbane with two of my young adult children.   I had decided it would be fun to walk along the Newfarm cliffs boardwalk and over six bridges crossing the river bend around the CBD.   The plan was clear and simple.  My companions were very focused on getting to the end.  It might be a 5k walk.  I didn’t actually calculate that.

The weather was variable from broiling January sun to solid rain.  In retrospect, a small parasol would have been useful for both (note to self).  

We stopped at the City Gardens Sunday market for Slavic Blin and also learned from another stall holder about “what is sterling silver”?  (a few percent of copper or other metal added for hardness.  Pure silver, like pure gold, is very malleable.) We got to feel the weight of an ingot of pure silver.

At Southbank, we discovered a free maze.  
My companions were becoming impatient with my side quests,
being keen to get to Maccas.  In its favour, the maze was undercover, out of the rain.  It was a gorgeous collection of colourful photo opportunities (with a hashtag I can’t remember).   When we emerged, the rain had eased.

In the CBD, we got sidetracked again in the real maze that is the ex Myer Uptown centre.   Tried a double helix fire escape to get out, but decided it was too dodgy, so we went back to the escalators. I also discovered that the high roof has a palm tree vibe going on I’d never noticed before – plus nostalgic memories of the roller coaster thing that used to clack around up there.

The upstairs Queen Street Maccas cafe visit protected us from the next downpour.  Although i was the one groaning about this stop, it was another nostalgic experience for me (it occupies the same site JoJo’s restaurant used to).

Which tied in nicely with the Neon Exhibition at the State Library (featuring the vintage signs from JoJo’s), where we also counted 8 celebratory Christmas beetle (not cockroach) sculptures climbing the walls marking the season.

And then it was over and we’re back on the City Cat home.  Mission accomplished.

I tell this story because although the plan was a good one – and we successfully completed the mission – it was the experience, the diversions and the conditions on the day which made it memorable.  Not only the laughter, but also the push-pull of tension and resistance, nostalgia and present delights and difficulties.

Similarly, in those times when sticking to the maximum efficiency plan is giving you or others grief, I invite you to become curious about what bigger picture details could enrich your experience.

It’s not an either or choice.

You can stick with your commitments AND make them feel uniquely, delightfully yours.

Curiosity is the key.

In case you’re wondering

Your curiosity is enough

Your curiosity is the thread of  longing that draws you forward along your unique personal path.

Your curiosity cannot be measured by looking at IQ cleverness, or EQ success.

You behaving more thoughtfully, sensitively, emotionally than the average person – that’s your curiosity at work.

Your curiosity is manifest in the series of choices and actions that have formed and continue to form your extraordinary – beyond average – life.

It is your quiet curiosity which

• Brings you to a decision point

• helps you overcome your doubts and fears

• encourages you to choose your bravest next step,

• Shows you the exact assistance you require along the way,

• surprises you with a spark of magic when you need it most,

• allows you to be accepted and embraced by a group of exceptional humans as unique as you are

• reminds you that you are human, and your greatest resource is your natural connection with other human beings who love you  (and all the other beings on the planet)

   

Yes, your curiosity is enough, and more than enough – your curiosity is plenty

All of this AuDHD wisdom and experience is built into my
1:1 embodiment coaching program,
Embodying Hope,
enabling you to build radical self belief
through experiencing the path that lights you up with AuDHD joy.

You can read lots about it here.

Here’s exactly how you’ll turn grrrr into great, let’s go

When you feed your “URGH!  *this* is bugging me right now” struggle (#firstworldproblems welcome)

into your thinking space

You’ll be able to extract a soothing dose of inner peace and a natural burst of creative energy

from your feeling space

Because refined thinking enables you to

• polarise the specifics of where you are now against where you want to be, allowing an intuitive mental bridge between the two to be created.

   

• identify the critical part of the bridge – the section that requires extra support to make the whole thing viable

   

• keep the feeling enquiry grounded and the outcomes genuinely actionable and measurable. 

Because sensitive feeling enables you to

• gently open to and embrace the uncomfortable and unfamiliar sensations you have been avoiding / denying

   

• explore and unravel the elegant entanglement of feelings, beliefs and experiences that have been getting in the way of you simply doing what you want and need to do.

   

• acknowledge and claim your truth, along with the surprising permission and joy it brings to your thinking and acting

The result of weaving together thinking and feeling is to

• Develop your ability to think for yourself (rather than against yourself)

• Stop those unnecessary “am I good enough?” doubts taking up precious bandwidth and falsely limiting your potential

• Increase your ability to trust and follow what you truly need and desire in the moment

• Rest into “I can definitely achieve this in perfect time” confidence based on the confluence of your capacity and commitment

The first step on this curiosity nurturing journey is scheduling a zero obligation Freeing the Invisible Woman session, where we’ll explore where you’re at, what’s calling you, and what you need most to support you getting there.

You’ll leave with an unexpected action step and an energising earworm to keep.

Enrolment is open now.

I look forward to speaking with you, answering all your questions, and making 2025 a year to remember because you are able to appreciate more of the small moments, as well as the significant achievements.