The ADHD Smarter Parenting‘s Podcast

At the Qualtrics conference in March 2019, Oprah stated that the secret to her success was setting realistic intentions. The thought behind setting intentions for the day is that before you do anything else, you decided the intention or goal, that you want for the day. By setting intentions for the day it allows you to have a mind-shift, and the energy to focus as everything you do is now seen through that intention.

The power of intention is that it gives you control over the day. Instead of waking up and picking up your phone and instantly feeling like a failure because your life doesn’t look like another’s, you’re able to tell the world what you expect from it rather than the other way around. It’s a simple thing, but it allows you to set boundaries and practice self-care, which leads to confident living. 

As an ADHD parent, it can feel overwhelming to think about setting realistic intentions for the day as it’s one more thing we have to do. This simple exercise can help you deal with all the pressures you face. It gives you a “game plan” of sorts and helps you mentally prepare for everything that is on your plate. When you feel rejuvenated, you’re able to handle the day more effectively. It’s when we’re tired and overwhelmed that everything seems so much worse as we don’t have the energy to handle it. Taking time for yourself is essential and does not make you a bad parent (even if you feel like it does).

Successful parents are those who have found a way to balance their self-care with what their child needs.

Setting intentions is a lot like the behavior skill of Preventive Teaching. Preventive Teaching is all about preparing your child for what they may encounter by setting realistic expectations for their behavior.  

We want you to try setting daily intentions for one week. These intentions don’t have to be large or take up a ton of time. It can be as simple as, “How do I want to feel at the end of the day? What do I need to do to feel that way?” So, if at the end of the day you want to feel calm, then you’ll need to add small activities (away from your phone) to your day that allows you to feel that way. It may be taking a bath, eating a favorite treat, going for a walk, having lunch with a friend, or taking a small nap.

We can’t stress it enough. There is power in setting daily intentions. Trust us when we say that doing this small thing can have a significant impact on the relationships you have.