The time I stopped listening to everyone else.
The first several years of my parenting journey were spent soaking up all the expert advice I could get my hands on. I attended seminars. I read dozens of parenting books. I was (and still am) a bit of a podcast addict. As foster parents, my husband and I took training courses for seven months before we took in our first child. That training was invaluable, and I’m glad we had that before we ever began—the knowledge we gained truly changed our parenting trajectory for the better.
That said, beginning parenthood as a people pleaser while needing to document every skinned knee, bruised elbow, and growth milestone with multiple people checked in on us weekly took a toll on my self-confidence and my nerves. I felt like I was constantly being graded as a mom. So what does a neurodivergent mind like mine do? Well, I dove even further into all the scientific data and research I could get my hands on to make sure I did right by these amazing, courageous kids.
I learned about…
…what trauma does to the brain and body.
…what adopted kids experience.
…ADHD and Autism.
…being a bi-racial family.
…homeschooling.
…the deconstruction of my own harmful beliefs and biases.
I was a sponge for information, but consuming at such a rate that there’s no possible way I could actually act upon all of the information and knowledge I was consuming. Listening to everyone but myself eventually came at the cost of losing touch with my own inner voice and strength. It cost me my presence in the current moment, clouding my mind with what I “should” be doing. I felt like as my knowledge grew, so did my burden of shame because it is impossible to do it all right. And the more I knew, the farther I felt from ideal.
I realized I was getting nowhere fast and I needed to stop reading about what makes a good mom and learn to become a person who trusted her own soul again. That's when I found ADHD life coaching, and it truly has been life-altering for me.
No book, or guru, or three-minute TikTok video could be more powerful moment-by-moment than a person who does the work to come to their own conclusions. As an ADHD coach, I get to create a safe space for people to explore their own lives, and help them see the strength and beauty inherent in themselves that they likely have long forgotten or minimized.
Coaching isn’t about me offering another list of shoulds for my clients. It’s about a partnership that gives them the safety, insight, and room to forge their own path. That is why the coaching journey is exquisite and life-changing.
