A Lesson Worth Its Weight in Gold

A Golden Opportunity

There has been a very important but under reported story during the Olympics this past week. It is about a once hyperactive little boy, sometimes getting teased and bullied, who miraculously found relief, focus, and ultimately found himself in the pool-a boy diagnosed with ADHD who found his strength, his passion, and his true medicine by swimming his heart out.

Lessons for parents of children with ADD or for us as adults with ADD, are that while we can’t all be Michael Phelps, we do all have special talents, abilities, and passions, things we care about deeply or things we love to do. Even though your strengths might not by Olympic in scope or manifest themselves in such a grand arena, find that one driving force in your life. Use your strengths, work hard at something that excites you, develop it, and let it drive you.

Lessons for the non ADD world and the media who now have a young man with diagnosed ADHD as their hero, are to understand that people with ADD can achieve great things and that ADD is real. No one would dare suggest to Michael or his mom, Debbie, (the icon of parenting we have all watched for over a week), that ADHD is not real or that it is a result of bad parenting!

My hope is that Michael Phelps will use his celebrity and remarkable achievement to make a huge difference in the lives of children with ADHD who need a champion –to tell all the kids out there struggling with their own challenges, that when you are driven by something important to you, that the challenges and the gifts of ADD can fuel your success,. My  hope is that he will tell them , if they focus on their talent, strength, or passion, that the other side of ADD can be this amazing laser beam focus, great drive, and determination.

Most importantly, my hope is he will tell them, as only he can, from one who really knows, that if they do this, if they remain determined and work hard to develop their gifts, that their dreams really can come true.

Now, that would be worth its weight in gold!