No New Year resolutions this year. Instead, I’m doing a plan. Plans are achievable, measurable, and have a due date. For me, I’m going to lose 1 pound a week for 30 weeks by keeping my total caloric intake to 1800 calories a day. I’m going to do that by keeping track of my calories in My Fitness App.
All of that external input, including seeing your calories in the app, recording your weight, using photographs of your weight loss (which no one but me, my wife, and God will ever see), are very important motivators to the ADHD brain. We need all that stimulus to keep our interest in our goals.
Also, for one more motivation, I’m going to figure out a reward to give myself, both little ones for losing a pound each week, and one large one for attaining my goal. Rewards are also an important motivator for the ADHD brain. It gives us something to look forward to and keeps our interest in our goals.
I believe everybody, especially ADHDers are hard-wired to be motivated by rewards. Even God will give us a reward in heaven for what we did and didn’t do (1 Cor 3:13-14 and many other verses).
A reward is external to the benefits of meeting a goal. Benefits of losing weight are lowering blood pressure, having more energy, and looking better in your summer clothes. A reward is buying yourself that dress or suit you’ve been looking at (probably best not to reward yourself with a chocolate binge).
There’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with meeting your goals. This may feel weird if you’ve grown up with authority figures who believed that an appropriate reward is to not get punished. But that is a horrible motivator, especially if you have ADHD.
So this year, do away with vague resolutions and give yourself some ADHD friendly goals.
Have an awesome and blessed new year.
ADD: Attention Deficit Devotional 