So many of my clients are filled with shame because of the countless negative messages they have received over time. The negative talk gets internalized to the point where their own self talk has become negative too. Our turbo thinking brains excel at rumination and catastrophizing. Our brains can be champion naysayers, flailing us with whips and chains of humiliation and degradation.

Many of my clients have been struggling lately with revenge bedtime procrastination, so I started to write about this act of deliberately putting off sleep in order to enjoy “me time” with stimulating but useless entertainment. I thought about how common it is for Turbo Thinkers, how to implement strategies for a bedtime routine, and how sleep improves our brain function.

When my son began fifth grade, his homeroom teacher had each student write a letter introducing themselves, and later, on Parents’ Night, I got to read it. A few lines in, my son had written, “I have ADHD and that means I’m creative.” I almost cried. My son got it. He understood that his brain is wired uniquely.

As Turbo Thinkers, we sometimes have trouble regulating our emotions. We feel things really intensely! How can we be aware of our emotions in our bodies? How can we use that information? How can we calm down our nervous system to regulate our emotions? When we have the ability to regulate our emotions, we can activate our executive function skills. For example, we can move out of the paralyzing state of overwhelm towards task initiation.

In recent years, more and more of us find ourselves working from home, working at a desk, and Zoom weary. How about a walk to get the blood flowing to the brain while improving mood and cognitive function? Don’t just do it for your body. Do it for your brain! I need it too! Exercise naturally boosts the key neurotransmitters: serotonin (mood), norepinephrine (focus), and dopamine (reward-system, movement). Norepinephrine boosts the signal quality of synaptic transmission, while dopamine decreases the noise of neuron chatter.

It’s 2022 and after living two years into a pandemic, self-awareness is key to progression.Together with clients, we develop awareness of what is going on in their turbo thinking brains as the first step towards improvement. Without awareness of what we are currently doing, thinking and feeling, we cannot change and step into a greater version of ourselves. How can we become more self-aware as turbo thinkers?

Can you take 15 minutes to write down everything in life that you value? These could be grand, abstract ideas, such as world peace. It could be small and personal, like the warm gooey sweetness of fresh pecan pie. You do not need to have these in your life right now, so it is not a gratitude list. Do you see a pattern? If you could put these into a few categories, what would those headers be? These are your core values.

A lot of my clients this week have been focused on communication. They have developed the awareness of what their bodies feel and what their brains need. They have been able to pause and redirect. They have been able to effectively communicate and self-advocate, and they recognize these abilities as wins!

Setting and achieving goals requires a different approach when wired with a Turbo Thinking brain. When our goals are motivated by fear, such as fear of consequence, fear of disappointing others, or fear of not being good enough, we put ourselves in crisis mode so that our cortisol levels skyrocket.

I just returned from a stunning trip to Costa Rica, where I had the opportunity to stay in a tiny cabin at the base of a volcano. My trip overflowed with the simple pleasures of immersing myself in nature, eating simple, whole foods, feeling love and living la pura vida. I could be fully present and mindful while appreciating every moment with eternal gratitude.

Is it just me, or does it seem to you that this past year was one of trial and error? It felt like the year of the cha-cha-cha, with a lot of steps forward and backwards, sometimes tripping, sometimes laughing, and sometimes simply enjoying the music allowing ourselves to flow with the rhythm.

After working with Turbo Thinkers for years, we’ve come up with the Top 3 Reasons to Love Group Coaching.

As the year draws to an end, I like to reflect and spot patterns. Here are five common traits I’ve seen in Turbo Thinkers:We see endless possibilities.

Our turbocharged brains can come up with at least 1,000 things to do with a purple pipe cleaner. We can imagine 10,000 ways in which something can go wrong, but we can also envision just as many ways in which it can go right. We can think of hundreds of side hustles and have a plethora of projects that must be completed because of limitless opportunities for ourselves and for others.

I just returned from a wonderful vacation in Valencia, Spain, where I reconnected with friends from my time as an exchange student 30 years ago. The city has changed, for the better, in so many ways, and we have too, with more wisdom and laugh lines. I had initially thought that the trip would be about revisiting the past, but it turned out to be about deep connection and friendship. It was full of endless possibilities.

A Mind Coach NOLA client and friend, Kristin Sanders, recently wrote an article for The UAGC Chronicle and we’ve decided to feature it!“In 2017, I began teaching part-time at UAGC while simultaneously teaching part-time at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and getting my freelance copywriting business off the ground. Balancing these three part-time jobs—as well as my creative writing—was difficult at first. I used to be the kind of teacher who would bring a pile of English papers home from an in-person class, then proceed to stare at the pile in increasing anguish as the week slid by. I'd grade a few papers here and there, but the pile never seemed any less daunting…”

I am so stoked about the conference next week. I am even more stoked to be presenting with some of my favorite ADHD coaches on the planet. Here’s a sneak preview of our session:

Often in coaching conversations we end up discussing self advocacy. This includes knowing what our brain needs to succeed and the skills to ask for it.

Once you know that you are wired differently, that there is a neurobiological explanation as to why you think, act and feel differently than other people, you begin to understand. Once you know that there are others like you, you can practice self compassion. You can be empathetic towards others, perhaps they are Turbo Thinkers too, you can seek treatment to help you get over challenges. You can learn to appreciate your strengths because of your different brain wiring. You can understand that ADHD presents itself differently in every individual at every stage of their life. You can become more aware of your own brain, of how you process thoughts, feelings and actions.

Turbo Thinkers tend to be rebels in our own way, at least in our minds. When we are given a suggestion and presented with someone else’s idea, we often reject it automatically. We can poke holes in it, think of a way to improve upon it, we can think of alternatives, we can find endless possibilities...none of which are the other person’s idea. It is as if our brain takes another person’s directions as a personal affront and a challenge. “Nope,” it says. “I don’t wanna. I’m going to do it my way and I can think of a million better ways than yours.”

I was recently talking with another ADHD coach about a new idea and that I had to extend my reach and help even more Turbo Thinkers. I knew in my heart that it was a good idea, but the magnitude and execution of it all overwhelmed me. Could I let it go?