First, one characteristic associated with ADD is "impulsivity." So? You think fast on your feet. And when you're able to think fast in a critical situation and make a quick decision, then you're not impulsive. You're decisive! Imagine a big stock buy that your company might be considering. The price is low, but something happened to make the stock start to climb. The instant you see this, you make a fast analysis of the situation, and bang! You buy the stock and make the company 10 million dollars. Your decisiveness just made the day. Be careful about weighing factors involved, though. Buying a Ferrari on a whim isn't a very good idea. In our stock buying case, you saw something that signaled an upward movement and the buy was a smart thing to do.
That's part of your ADD, too. You notice changes in the environment because you notice everything around you. Some say that's "distractibility," but in the case of noticing a small change, it was totally positive that you noticed. People who are surveillance people or systems managers need to be aware of small changes, too. In those cases, what society calls, "Distractibility," can be a good thing.
Hyperactivity can be good, too. You're full of life and energy, and can really get a project done fast when you turn on the ADD "hyperfocus" jets. Imagine that you have this deadline and your job is on the line. You'll sure see hyperfocus as a great thing when you meet the deadline and save your job, right? The only drawback to this is that you may tend to ignore your own well-being. Remember to work, eat, and rest, too. You aren't very much fun to be around when you're cranky, anyway.
Yet, you are a likable person, no doubt. You're so creative that you're always coming up with interesting ideas and things to do. So many non-ADD people have boring jobs and boring lives. They just forget how to have a good time. Not you! You probably have a kick-butt sense of humor and really make the party come to life. However, use your ability to detect small changes when it comes to relationships, too. Generally, non-ADD people don't quite understand attention deficit and may have been put off by something you said or did, when you never meant to hurt their feelings at all. Iron out miscommunications quickly and you'll rock.
Don't let what people "label" you put you down. You're awesome! When you start to throw off the negatives and see yourself in a positive light, you'll be a much happier person and your life will be happier, too.
