Reflections on the Conference
I made a choice to attend my kids archery competition on Sunday, so I missed the Sunday events. I’m sure Dr. Ratey’s discussion was a great finale for the conference.
Reflecting back on the conference, I think the best part was probably the people I met and the news friendships I formed. I’ve heard from many people prior to the event that being around a bunch of ADHD’ers was a lot like coming home and I concur.
I learned a lot from Sari Solden and David Giwerc which probably tells you a little bit about where I am in my journey if you’re familiar with their material. I’m reading Sari’s Journeys Through ADDulthood book right now and getting a lot from it. I’ll have a lot to discuss with my coach later on this week.
Speaking of which, my coach Mike Anderson did a great job with his presentation Saturday afternoon. People were still there discussing it with him when I went back an hour later.
I really appreciate the willingness of great experts in the field to be accessible and genuine.
I’ll definitely make plans to be back next time.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the conference as well. Leave a comment or shoot me an email at jaycarter@jcartergroup.com .
Saturday
A little bleary eyed this morning. I’m commuting back and forth to my home in Wisconsin. Dr. Hallowell started off the day for us today. He gave a wonderful presentation that met all the expectations you’d have of a Dr. Hallowell presentation. Following that Dr. Ratey and Sari Solden joined him for a question and answer session.
Following that I attended Tara McGillicuddy’s presention on ADHD Support 2.0 which covered some important advantages and dangers of today’s web offerings.
My session this afternoon was David Giwerc’s discussion on Successfully Navigating the Turbulent Waves of your AD/HD.
All the sessions so far have been superb.
Friday Night
Wow! It’s amazing how much professional level talent there was here. The talent show was awesome. There was a great variety of talent. There were musical numbers from jazz to rock. There were some braves souls who did a great job with accapela singing – If I were a Rich Man and an original song Cold Stone Killer. We even had a great accordian number. There was story telling and some outstanding comedy. I’m kind of a data guy. I’d be curious what the statistical odds are of having that much talent in a group this size.
End of the Break out sessions on Friday
Wow! What a packed day.
Just finished a break out session by my personal coach Mike Anderson . He really takes productivity thinking to the next level. He presented a formula called the Selective Solutions Reuptake Inhibitor. I’m sure Mike will feel free to correct me on how I wrote that if I messed it up. The reasons we have difficulty with productivity are deep. We need to understand the underlying beliefs and issues behind what we do.
Before that I attended the session "Succeed in a Flash" presented by Linda Walker . She laid out a system that she and her husband Duane developed that uses progressive small changes to make large improvements.
Enjoyed lunch with three friends I didn’t know until today. It’s amazing how easy it is to talk to people in this group.
The Morning Sessions
Wow! The first keynote speaker was Sari Solden . She may be one of the people who has the best way of dealing with the whole person of Adults with ADHD – not just the ADHD. She told a story about her farm and her sheep. It hit close to home with my farm and my llamas.
Some of the great points
- Heal old wounds then build toward meaning
- Aim for wholeness not perfection
- Learn to live your own life
- Move toward improvement instead of moving toward a solution
- Balance acceptance with action
- Tell yourself a new story about yourself
Sari has some new things happening on her website – it’s worth checking out.
