Trusting yourself... why is this so hard for ADHDers?

“Just a few more minutes… if I don’t finish this now, it’ll take twice as long to get back into it.”

Does that sound familiar?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been late for an appointment, ignored my thirst, or barely made it to the bathroom in time—all because I was afraid to walk away from the task in front of me.

When my ADHD triggers flare up, my brain tries to convince me that if I stop, I’ll lose momentum, forget what I was doing, and never finish.

And while finishing a project is important, doing it in a hurried, frantic state out of fear often backfires. It increases the chances of mistakes—and ironically, it trains the brain to believe it should forget when we step away.

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How the Brain Looks for What You Believe

I recently watched a video with neuroscientist James Doty, who explained manifestation in a simple way: your brain looks for the things you tell it are true. It’s wired to protect you, to gather evidence that confirms your beliefs.

Think about it like the algorithm on social media. If you watch one cat video, suddenly your feed is flooded with more. Your brain works the same way—feeding you more of what you focus on.

The good news?

You get to influence what your brain looks for.

Yes, ADHD might mean forgetfulness or distractibility has been part of your past. But that doesn’t mean it has to define your future.

You can challenge the “I always forget” or “I never finish” stories and teach your brain to notice different evidence.

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My Desk Reminder: “Everything is Figure-Out-Able”

Last week, I shared about the note on my desk that reads: Everything is figure-out-able.

When I see it, my nervous system relaxes. It reminds me that even if I forget, I’ll find a way back to what matters. And if I don’t remember something I intended to do? Maybe it wasn’t essential after all.

But mantras only matter when you put them to the test.

A Small Experiment

This week, I hit a moment of decision. My water bottle was empty, but my brain screamed: Don’t stop— you won't remember what you were doing if you walk away!

Instead of giving in, I paused, took a breath, and asked: Is that really true? Let’s find out.

I calmly left my desk, refilled my water, took care of a couple other needs, and returned.

To my surprise—I picked up exactly where I had left off. No lost momentum. No catastrophe.

Here’s what made the difference:

• Taking a deep breath shifted me out of panic mode.

• Calming my nervous system on purpose made the step away feel safe.

• Giving myself permission to experiment opened the door to a new experience.

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The Bigger Lesson

So often, fear keeps us stuck in our hardest ADHD patterns. By testing a small belief—

“If I stop, it will take too long to get back into it”

I proved to myself that it wasn’t always true.

No, ADHD doesn’t disappear with one trick. But we can discover new possibilities when we experiment. Sometimes we’re capable of more than our past experiences suggest.

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A Question for You

What’s one small belief about your ADHD you can challenge this week?

Maybe it’s “I’ll never remember if I don’t do it right now.” Or “I won’t be able to focus unless I power through.” Try an experiment. Test it gently. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself.

And leave a comment sharing how it went for you.