Awareness + Skills + Desire = Success
by Ari Tuckman, PsyD, MBA

The pursuit of success is like a chain-it's only as good as its weakest link. In order to be successful, all the links need to be strong enough, whereas failure only requires one link to be weak. So when we do fail at something, the trick is to figure out which of those links is responsible.

This is especially important for folks with ADHD, since it may not initially be clear which link(s) gave way. So let's identify the three links of success:

• Awareness-The first link is simply being aware of the desired task. Obviously, if you forget about a project, you can't work on it. Sometimes the problem is remembering something at the wrong moments. For example, it doesn't help much to remember while at work that you need to pay the bills at home. These timing issues are big ones for ADHD folks.
• Skills-If you remember a task at the right time and place, you then need to have the ability to do what is required. This is usually not the problem for ADHD folks, since they instead tend to run into trouble with not reliably doing what they know.
• Desire-No amount of awareness and skills is enough if you don't put forth the necessary effort. Other people often assume that ADHD folks lack the desire to do the required tasks-that they're lazy, irresponsible, or have a bad attitude. This is especially true before they are diagnosed. Unfortunately, over time, the ADHD person can begin to believe this himself, making him even less likely to give something his best effort, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's helpful to think about the chain of success as having three links, since different strategies will be necessary depending upon which link is breaking down. Strategies from one link probably won't help much in the others. So if something didn't work out, take a moment to figure out where things broke down. Depending upon which link it is, you may want to try strategies along these lines:

• Awareness-If you're not remembering something at the right times or places, then set up something to remind you. For example, use a schedule book or calendar to keep track of commitments and deadlines. Use an alarm clock or PDA to remind you that it's time to do something else. The trick is to set things up when you are thinking about it, so as to remind you at the times that you may not be thinking about it. Medication can also help with this.
• Skills-If part of the break down or avoidance comes out of not knowing how to do something, then seek out help in learning how or to improve your efficiency. It's much better to ask for help than to show by your failure that you can't do something.
• Desire-Our desire to do something is related to the first two links. Everyone tends to be more aware of those things that they want to do, but this may be even more true for ADHD folks. We also all tend to prefer doing those things that we are good at. Sometimes though we need to do things that we don't really want to or aren't that good at. Try to remind yourself of the rewards for doing it or the cost for not doing it. For folks with ADHD, it may take more force of will to make yourself do these sorts of things.

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Below are some myADHD.com Treatment Tools found in Study Strategies for Early School Success by Leslie Davis, M,Ed., Sandi Sirotowitz, M.Ed., and Harvey Parker, Ph.D.

• 1002 Are You Organized?
• 1003 School Supplies Checklist
• 1005 Organizing New School Papers
• 1006 Organizing Old School Papers
• 1009 Get Energized to Organize