Ever find yourself wrangling thoughts, and wondering why things are so difficult? Whether you have been diagnosed with a developmental difference or you believe you have one, this is the blog for you.    
      As an adult with ADHD, High Functioning Autism/Asperger’s, Learning Disabilities or any of the other many Neurodiversity’s, we often find ourselves living in a world that doesn’t match our needs or abilities.  Relationships, careers, and education can cause us overwhelming anxiety and stress, which can lead to depression, lack of motivation, and emotional dysregulation, not to mention a series of therapies and medications that often don’t provide substantial lasting solutions. It’s not easy living in a world that doesn’t function at your pace, or doesn’t seem to follow rules you are expected to intuitively get. 
      The Thought Wrangler blog addresses how we learn to cope, regulate and manage in this world while at the same time honoring our brains individual and unique wiring. 
Being wired differently makes the world a more challenging place, but it also opens us up to unprecedented creativity and problem-solving abilities. The goal of The Thought Wrangler blog is to provide hope and lead the path to an easier way of navigating this Neurotypical world. 
So, follow The Thought Wrangler for relatable, real life stories, information and comfort on this journey. 
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Life, especially adult life, can be overwhelming and exhausting.  And in this overconnected and misinformed world our brains are running at max speed!
As a result, we now have a much greater tendency towards anxiety and overwhelm.
And when our anxiety is high and we are overwhelmed, it’s much harder if not impossible, to tap into what many might call commonsense, or wisdom.
So, as a small reminder I have curated this list as a short but powerful guide to getting back on track and keeping our thinking in a more positive light.
So read on, but remember… it’s all practice, practice, practice.
1. Respect yourself
2. Remove prejudices often
3. Know your own responsibility
4. Practice empathy
5. Listen to silence, and take notes
6. Blame is useless, but responsibly is useful
7. Respect even the unrespectable
8. Find God (hint; he’s not lost)
9. Don’t ever say never
10. Remember who you were
11. Learn the meaning of the word ignorance
12. Take care of your body, you may need it for a long time
13. Use kind words, and when angry, wait to speak
14. Remove the phrases ‘stupid’ and ‘shut up’ from your vocabulary
15. If you feel the urge to hug, do it
16. Smile, you just might believe it
17. Silence is always better then a lie
18. The law of the universe can’t be broken
19. Regret is useless, remorse is a teacher
20. Forgiveness is power
21. Help someone, repeat
22. Know what you can afford, and share what you can
23. Be grateful… and verbal about it
24. Say please, it means something
25. Protect your own without hurting others
26. Stand up for what’s right and good
27. Be proud of something outside of yourself
28. Be accountable
29. Be a role model
30. Show love
31. Don’t justify your anger
32. Don’t justify someone else’s anger
33. Be there for someone
34. Listen more then you speak
35. Patience is a practice. Practice often
36. Cry when you need to
37. Never laugh “at” someone
38. Be humble at your own expense
39. Loyalty is Royalty. Be a king, don’t sacrifice the troops
40. The best defense is awareness
41. When you are angry, take a good look at your own actions
42. Make ‘ethical’ habitual
43. Excuse are useless
44. Perspective is most of what you experience
45. You are not your story
46. It’s not necessarily about you
47. You cannot find happiness outside of yourself
48. Admit when you have made a mistake
49. Plan for the future, but live in the present

All this said… We are not perfect. We fail. We try. Sometimes we fail a few more times. Sometimes we wish we remembered what we thought we should know. It’s important to keep in mind we ‘practice’ these things, meaning we keep working on it because it’s not as easy as it sounds.
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                                                                            Don’t give up, keep practicing.

And sometimes, especially as parents, we have regrets. You can read more about Parenting Regrets by clicking here.

Follow The Thought Wrangler and Parenting The Extraordinary Blogs for relatable, real life stories, information and comfort on this journey by subscribing to receive the latest blog articles fresh from the keyboard!

       Knowing your weaknesses and fears is one thing, acknowledging them and sharing them with those you trust is another. That kind of work requires incredible bravery especially from a neurodiverse perspective.
      Trust can be challenging for many people, but it can be especially tricky for those of us who’s brains are wired in a way that makes us more anxious.
       Vulnerability in particular requires a great sense of trust, and for many people who have spent a lifetime struggling to feel at ease with others, this can be a very difficult hurdle to overcome, but one that is definitely worth the work.
Being vulnerable is the only way to truly get to that deeper connection that we all crave in one way or another.
       The interesting thing about vulnerability is that it allows us to speak into a space that has been forgotten and connect with people in a sincere and profound way. But vulnerability requires willingness and a sense of safety and knowledge that we can keep our hearts safe.
If we don’t truly connect, we feel isolated. And this may be the root of why so many Neurodiverse kids and adults feel so alone in the world. Connection is more challenging for us, because our perceptions and how we experience the world hasn’t always been understood by others. We see and experience things very differently and often with more intensity, thus we are more prone to anxiety.
       It’s when we open to the tender spaces where we are vulnerable and scared that we are able to make connections that are meaningful. And if you struggle with loneliness or feelings of isolation, then you know just how hard this can be.
         Trust isn’t easy, but it is worth the risk. It does take practice. When it comes to knowing who to trust and when, we may need to seek advice and assistance from others with more wisdom in this area.
Trust also requires us to be flexible and accepting, something that can be particularly challenging for the Neurodiverse, but with practice and patience, it is very possible.
       Keeping our vulnerabilities protected and hidden is the very thing that makes us feel fragile, and keeps our true selves hidden. It can be difficult to accept, but the same thing that we think protects us actually keeps us in the cycle of hurt and deep pain that is isolation.
      It is important to remember that our darkest stories tell of the wounds that brought us to this moment. Sharing how we got here and allowing people in, is no doubt scary, and requires a deep fearlessness of the spirit, but it is the only way to true connectedness, love and freedom.
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         The stuff we are walking through right now, will one day heal. It really will. If we choose to find the beauty (purpose) in our pain, and allow ourselves to openly and wholeheartedly relate to each other, then the healing can begin, the love spreads and true power is found. And that is really powerful.

Follow The Thought Wrangler and Parenting The Extraordinary Blogs for relatable, real life stories, information and comfort on this journey by subscribing to receive the latest blog articles fresh from the keyboard!