The 4 things that motivate an ADHD Brain

You know the feeling. 

There is a list as long as your arm. It's all important. It's all stuff that you definitely should do. It's all things that you want to have done. You don't even mind doing some of the things.  

But it's just not happening.  

Your mind is fuzzy, your body feels drained, and there is a voice screaming in your head, "Oh, hell no!"

You know that if you could get started, you would feel so much better. You could make some progress and feel better going to bed tonight.

You would feel less anxious. You would feel better about yourself.  

What's the deal? 

Why can't you get yourself off the couch and into motion?

Getting started (what psychologists call initiation) is one of the hardest things for the ADHD brain. It's a HUGE energy expense. It's getting a ball from standing stone still to rolling. 

Once it is going, it's not nearly as much energy to keep it rolling, but the initial push- that's hard!  

The thing is, though, with an ADHD brain, the vast majority of tasks (even ones you kind of enjoy) aren't just getting a ball rolling, but it's getting a ball rolling UPHILL. 

And some tasks (like taxes or cleaning out your garage) turn that ball into a really heavy boulder.  

The ADHD brain isn't motivated in the same way as neurotypical brains. It doesn't respond to "should" and "ought to." It doesn't hear, "It would be better if" and instead responds to the present moment. And in the present moment? It always feels better to stay still than to move.  

So still it stays.

Unless…

There is something really good driving it forward. Something that gets it going. Something that turns that uphill slog into a gentle, smooth, downhill slope that the ball can gently roll down with minimal effort.

So what is it that gets the ADD / ADHD brain rolling?

Pressure

Pressure is the motivator that we all walk around with sitting in our back pocket- ready to pull out as needed. It's the easiest to manufacture and one thing that you can rely on (well- most of the time).

Pressure is the paper due tomorrow morning, it's your boss calling for the report that was due 3 weeks ago, and it's your wife crying about a forgotten anniversary.

It's the most commonly used motivator because it's the easiest to manufacture. Don't feel like starting that project right now? Wait a few weeks- a few hours before its due, it's going to feel much more compelling.  

Pressure comes in 3 forms:  

Interpersonal pressure 

This is the pressure put on you by other people- either because of their need or disappointment or anger. It is your husband's mounting frustration about the forgotten dry cleaning or the insistent tugging of your toddler at the hem of your shirt while you desperately try to beat that next level of candy crush.

Time Pressure

This is the age-old favorite and the effective result of procrastination. This is waiting until the night before the paper is due or the desperate all-nighter before a big presentation. Time pressure allows the ADHD brain to zoom in on what is important and ignore all the rest.

Financial Pressure

Financial pressure keeps you accountable by putting pressure on your bank account. It is the premise behind late fees and cancellation policies. It is, however, the least powerful pressure for the ADHD brain because it doesn’t respond nearly as well to punishment as it does reward. That being said, if the financial pressure gets big and meaningful enough it can kick the ADHD brain into gear pretty quickly.

Each form of pressure will happen naturally if you wait long enough. Let enough time pass and April 15 is sure to come along, let that Amazon return your husband has been asking you to bring in hang out on the counter long enough, and he is sure to start bugging you and forget to pay the electric bill and the late fees will start piling up.  You don’t have to manufacture pressure because it will inevitably roll around. (But sneak peak for next week- you CAN manufacture pressure to make it work better for you.)

Interest/Passion

What ADHDer hasn't heard (either from themselves or someone close to them) "Why can you [enter favorite activity here] but you can't do [enter boring/ repetitive/ seemingly pointless activity here]"? It can be confusing. You can get going, focus, and be completely engaged with the things that interest you- but switch that thing out with something that doesn't have that intrinsic pleasure or drive and the train comes to a screeching halt.

Interest and passion turn the ADHD brain on. It gets the brain moving and drives it towards that interest. This means that the initiation hurdle, the thing that blocks you from starting, is more like a very gentle speed bump when you are interested in a task- you may not even notice it’s there. A task that holds little interest though? That initiation hurdle might as well be a 2 story wall. The amount of energy it takes to scale feels close to impossible.

Competition

My husband, an avid cyclist, came in from a ride a few months ago looking extra worn out. When I asked him about his ride, he told me that on his way home a 20-year-old guy passed him on a road bike. Now, did my husband consider his own age or that he was riding a much slower, heavier mountain bike? No! Of course not- he powered up and chased after him- practically killing his 40-year-old body in the process.

Competition turns the ADHD brain on. It gets it excited and active, and all of a sudden, the struggle is about winning rather than starting, effectively demolishing the initiation hurdle. 

Now, not everyone responds to competition, there are several psychological factors that can make competition grind even an ADHD brain to a screeching halt. So if this doesn’t work for you- you are not alone. But for those brains that do respond, it can be a powerful motivator.

Novelty

There are few things more compelling than something shiny and new. I see it every day with my boys- they will, without a moment’s hesitation, put down their most prize possession in exchange for practically anything they haven't seen before. Our brains are primed to explore novelty- it's part of what helps us learn and part of what keeps us safe.

The ADHD brain has this same draw towards the novel but it is done with even greater zeal and abandon. So new relationships, new projects, new ideas, and new tasks? They all get the ADHD brain going and on fire. Novelty ignights that innocent, child-like learner that wants to explore and learn and grow. It gets the creative juices flowing and gets the brain excited. This excitement rewards the brain with a healthy dose of dopamine which then keeps it moving.

Unfortunately, novelty obviously wears off. So you need to find ways to manufacture more momentum once the new gets you started. But getting started? That is more than half the battle.

Knowing what motivates your ADHD brain helps you get into action and avoid the things that will naturally take your attention. Check out our next article on to use the 4 pillars of motivation to get you going when you need to and not when you don't.

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