Taking Charge of Adult ADHD Quotes

“Without self-control, we wind up in places we didn’t really want to be,”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“That’s what I mean by self-control: the ability to choose something other than your initial impulse so you can get something in the future that you want more or that is better for your long-term welfare and happiness.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Emotion is so powerful that it’s as if it has an electric charge that is transferred to those around us.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Self-control, or better yet, self-regulation, allows us to monitor our own actions, stop ourselves as needed, contemplate our possible actions, and then choose the wisest course of action to get the best possible outcome in the future.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Self-control is defined in psychology as any response, or chain of responses, that we direct at ourselves that leads us to change our own behavior instead of just acting on impulse so that we can change what will happen in the future. It is action directed at the self to change that likely future.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“MotivAider,”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Self-awareness ✓ Inhibition ✓ Nonverbal working memory ✓ Verbal working memory ✓ Emotion regulation ✓ Self-motivation”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“ADHD is a disorder of performance—of doing what you know rather than knowing what to do.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“you don’t deliberate over all the possible options available before making that snap decision.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“To put it simply, you and other adults with ADHD are blind to time”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Because we expect adults to have this executive function, society reacts pretty negatively to extreme or exaggerated expressions of emotion. We accept the fact that babies scream at the slightest emotional pain because it’s a self-preservation mechanism. And we understand perfectly when 3-year-olds throw a temper tantrum when they don’t get the candy at the grocery store checkout counter. But we’re embarrassed and disapproving of an adult who bursts into tears or yells in anger in public over a minor frustration like having to stand in a long line at the supermarket.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“you intentionally conjure up images of the destruction of the planet and use the anger these images stimulate to motivate you onward.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“You’re more subject than other adults to frustration, boredom, and resentment.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“We then start to adjust our next response based on the actual consequences of what we do. All animal species do this, because if they don’t, they won’t survive for very long as adults.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“For we humans know that simply reacting is not what is best for us if we want to optimize our long-term welfare, quality of life, and even survival over our short-term actions and their immediate rewards.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“The barbs usually start flying at adults who seem ruled by whatever is going on around them, who need other adults to do their thinking for them, who don’t think ahead, and who have no patience”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“More and more as we mature, we find the big prize at the end of the long haul to be worth waiting and working for and so turn away from the small seductions and rewards of the moment to work for those much bigger rewards.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Notice that the initial pause and even making a “do list” of issues are self-directed actions that lead to a change in what Len is likely to do next.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“You know it’s hard to maintain a sense of adult accomplishment and competence when those around you think they can’t count on you to get things done or even show up.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“When one member of a couple has ADHD, the balance of work in the household can end up askew, hurt feelings can result from apparent insensitivity or lack of interest in the other person, and intimacy can be threatened by poorly regulated emotion.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“Rule 1: Stop the Action! Buy some time before you respond. Rule 2: See the Past … and Then the Future See what’s coming. Rule 3: Say the Past … and Then the Future Analyze before deciding; develop rules for the future. Rule 4: Externalize Key Information Rely on something besides your memory. Rule 5: Feel the Future Stay motivated. Rule 6: Break It Down … and Make It Matter Bring the future a lot closer. Rule 7: Make Problems External, Physical, and Manual Simplify problem solving. Rule 8: Have a Sense of Humor! Accept your imperfections and get on with your life.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships

“These cues can take many forms. Here are some examples keyed to particular problem situations: ✓ A sign you put on the margin of your computer monitor or on your desk within your visual field reminding you not to start surfing the web instead of doing your work. Or try a picture of your boss on which you have printed “Get to Work!” Or, do as Homer Simpson did in one memorable episode when he displayed a picture of his young daughter, Lisa, with the statement “Do it for her!” beneath it.”
― Russell A. Barkley, Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home, and in Relationships