Weird fact. Most of us with ADHD spent years thinking we were fundamentally broken. Lazy. Undisciplined. Dramatic. Insert your favorite self-hatred descriptor here.

We didn’t know we were wired differently. We just knew we were different.

Some of us can hyperfocus for 14 hours straight on something that absolutely lights up our brain. Some of us can’t remember what we walked into the kitchen to get. Some of us are brilliant conversationalists who can’t finish a single damn project. Paradox is our middle name.

I have no research to support this beyond decades of watching humans struggle, but here’s what I know: We’ve been gaslighting ourselves long before anyone else got the chance.

Procrastination? Not a character flaw. It’s a neurological dance with executive function that most neurotypical people will never understand. We’re not avoiding work. We’re wrestling with a brain that processes motivation differently. Sometimes we need the nuclear option of a last-minute deadline to kickstart our dopamine.

Distractibility? Not a moral failing. It’s our brain’s incredible capacity to notice EVERYTHING. While you’re focused on one conversation, we’re simultaneously processing the background music, the temperature of the room, the slight emotional shift in someone’s voice, and wondering if we turned the stove off three hours ago.

Marcus Parks said it best: “It may not be my fault, but it is my responsibility.”

Let that sink in.

Our ADHD brain isn’t a broken version of a “normal” brain. It’s a different operating system. Some of us can solve complex problems in ways linear thinkers can’t even imagine. Some of us create art that breaks traditional boundaries. Some of us survive where others would have long given up.

Practical intelligence for us looks different. We might struggle with traditional “adulting” but can MacGyver a solution to a problem that would leave others completely stumped. We might forget to do our taxes but can tell you every detail about a random Wikipedia rabbit hole we fell into at 2 AM.

I say this with a level of confidence because I’ve lived it. I’ve watched countless humans with ADHD beat themselves up for years, not understanding that their brain is simply wired for a different kind of brilliance.

Our brains don’t just march to a different drum. We’re playing an entire different symphony.

Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. The endless self-criticism. The late-night spirals of “why can’t I just be normal?” The feeling of being simultaneously too much and not enough.

But here’s the beautiful paradox: What we’ve been taught to see as our greatest weaknesses are often our most extraordinary strengths.

Hyperfocus isn’t a bug. It’s a feature. Creativity isn’t scattered. It’s multidimensional. Emotional sensitivity isn’t dramatic. It’s profound.

We are not broken. We are not less. We are different.

And different? Well maybe a bit…