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Ariane Benefit, M.S. Ed - My Story
My commitment to the field of chronic disorganization is fueled by my own life experience compensating for and hiding my undiagnosed ADHD and related organizing and time management issues. Conventional organizing approaches never worked for me. After working with many gifted and talented adults with ADD who were a lot like me, I learned that it might be more than just my Creative Personality Type (ENTP) that had made organizing such a painful struggle for me.
I also grew up in an extremely cluttered and chaotic home (both of my parents probably had ADD and didn't know it) and I was a packrat myself. Moving frequently during my career, I was forced learn to let go of my clutter in order to have what I really wanted in life. I graduated college with Magna Cum Laude, but I also lost lots of sleep, and got many incompletes. I learned early on that I was "predictably unpredictable" and needed unusual approaches to organize myself to meet deadlines and get places on time in order to achieve my dreams and goals.
I am living proof that if you learn to work with who you are, quit trying to be like everyone else, and design a life that "fits" you, you can realize much more of your potential.
If you have been chronically disorganized for more than a year, the personality, social, and biological factors that have shaped who you are will probably not go away. But that's okay, because you have lots of positive strengths, gifts and talents worth developing. Like compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, sense of humor, intelligence, and more.
If you can keep the possibility alive that you are "good enough" just the way you are, you can start to make life work.
Other Articles I've Written About My Journey
My Favorite Mistake - Lessons Learned from an Interstate Move and Moving for Love
Learning from Overcoming Poverty - It's Not About the Money
How I Survived Uundiagnosed ADHD and related organizing and time management issues.
Is it Really ADD or is it Creative Personality Type (ENTP)
