The 10K Mindset
Before I knew anything about ADHD, or, in fact, mental health and mindfulness, I used to get huge rushes of energy, put on some trainers, and just run as fast as I could out of the house. This was in the countryside and woods when I lived at home, and then in London when I’d moved away from home, I’d just ‘run around’ in the city. But of course, I could only run as fast as I could for a short period of time. Then I’d slowly walk back after I’d run off my excess energy. Then I wouldn’t run for a long time! Not a great strategy, but it did the trick in the moment for a quick dopamine hit. I didn’t drink enough water, warm up, warm down, eat the correct food before or after, it was just a quick fix.
During lockdown, I started the Couch to 5k and stuck with the instructions (for once!). It was brilliant; I couldn’t believe that I could sustain running for 3 minutes, let alone half an hour! That was about 3 years ago, and I’ve run many 10ks now, getting huge satisfaction from knowing that I’m building strength and discipline. It’s great for dopamine and has huge personal rewards at the end : )
So, why is the process of having ideas like this?
The way that ideas come into my brain is erratic and impulsive, and my response used to be the same as running around London at night. Getting a big buzz quickly from having the idea and then going a hundred miles an hour, and eventually burning out, feeling unfulfilled,
and probably not actually having done anything with the idea.
I now approach ideas like the Couch to 5k. I’ll write down the initial impulsive idea and work through it. I’ll immediately address if I’m overcommitting (I still overcommit, but I’m working on it), decide if this is an idea that needs to be taken forward, or
is it just an idea for ideas' sake? And then work through a strategy.
If I work through the idea at the proper pace, then I’ll reach the end goal and feel a sustained reward, not just a quick-hit reward. To work through an idea properly requires discipline, and I’m building internal strength and focus, and managing expectations, just like doing a 10k. I could never have managed to do a 10k without the sustained training and discipline, and I can never follow through on an idea if I’m too impulsive and don’t think it through properly, which leads to burnout. Don’t get me wrong, I love having impulsive ideas, as they often turn out to be the best ones. However, I've learned to put more thought into them after the initial excitement. I hope that my impulsive ideas never stop; what I've changed is my response to them. If I approach it like a 10k, the end goal is sustained appreciation as a result of hard work, and the reward is so much better than if I’ve been too impulsive and jumped into something without thinking about it clearly. Ask for help, collaborate, bounce ideas off people, get support and the idea will blossom : )