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This is an audio version of the

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brief. The Design Better newsletter that

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takes you deeper into the

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insights we've uncovered through hundreds

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of interviews with creative thinkers.

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I'm Aaron Walter. ADHD and

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the Creative Mind. Over the past

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seven-plus years of interviewing

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creative people, designers, writers,

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musicians, filmmakers, architects, fashion

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designers, and artists, there

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is a theme that

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keeps popping up. It's ADHD.

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ADHD is perceived as a

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disorder. In fact, it's in

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the name, attention deficit hyperactivity

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disorder, but nearly 7% of

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the global population has been

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diagnosed with ADHD, according to

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a study by the NIH. A

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number I suspect is low, as

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so many go undiagnosed their entire

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life. I have two sons who have

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ADHD minds, and I see many

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more kids in their schools whose

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brains operate similarly. I'm no scientist,

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but I can't help but

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think that if such a

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large part of our population

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has ADHD, maybe this isn't

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a disorder. Maybe it's a feature, not

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a bug. Those with ADHD often

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find their brains running fast,

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fluttering from perch to perch,

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rarely still. Operational and

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executive tasks like planning,

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following directions, and staying tuned

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in during meetings are a

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struggle. Admit... I struggle with

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this stuff. This gives the impression

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that those with ADHD have

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limited attention, but I see the opposite.

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ADHD thinkers have plenty

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of attention. It's just not

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paid out to uninteresting tasks.

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In fact, many high-achieving creative thinkers

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with ADHD find success because

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they can't help but pour

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all their attention into their

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work. When an ADHD mind finds

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a topic of interest, Its

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grip is relentless. Every

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detail and angle are

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examined. Petiments like interruptions

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or insufficient skills are

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frustrating. As psychiatrist and

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ADHD expert Dr. Edward

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Halliwell describes the ADHD

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mind, ADHD is like having a

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Ferrari engine for a brain, but

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with bicycle brakes. Sky Waterson, who

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was on episode 113 of Design

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Better, told us people with ADHD

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often feel like they're driven by

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a motor. They may switch directions

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frequently trying to find the right

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industry or subject. which can lead

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to burnout cycles. A mind like

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this forced to march

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in time with operational

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thinkers who thrive in

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an economic environment shaped

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by industrialization is bound to

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struggle. Though the struggle is

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real for ADHD thinkers, there

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are upsides that we should

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acknowledge. The Upside of ADHD.

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There's no concrete evidence that

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ADHD leads to creativity, but

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there are a few studies

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that suggest ADHD challenges can

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have an upside. The same qualities that

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make it hard to take turns

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or follow directions, for instance, may

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promote creative thinking. The world

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can feel like a foreign land for

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the ADHD mind, that is, until the

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superpowers it offers are recognized. Creativity

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and ADHD are deeply

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connected. As it flits from topic

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to topic and ADHD mind

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tends to cross-pollinate ideas, sometimes

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in ways that amaze us. Historians

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and psychologists suspect Leonardo

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da Vinci, Albert Einstein,

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Pablo Picasso, and Salvador

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Dolly all had ADHD minds. Each

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of them masters at discovering

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novel concepts by connecting

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seemingly disconnected ideas. And

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Bill Gates, Greta Gerwig, Justin

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Timberlake, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Kerry,

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Trevor Noah, Dav Pilke, and

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Dave Grohl have all been

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officially diagnosed, and for many

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of them, their ADHD is

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central to their success. For them,

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ADHD has been a

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superpower helping them obsessively

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pursue their interests. Again from

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Sky Waterson in episode 113 on

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Design Better. We do know from

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the research that we ADHD thinkers

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are good at creative thinking,

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creative problem solving, and original

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thinking. That kind of space

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is very ADHD. We're good

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at saying if you take this

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idea and this idea and put

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them together, you come up with

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something completely different. Reframing

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ADHD. ADHD seems like

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a misnomer to me. Is it a

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disorder? Sometimes it can feel

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that way and for many people

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it very much is, especially when

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it's acute. But many see it as

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an integral part of their creative

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process of who they are.

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Creative ADHD thinkers are

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able to pour all of

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their attention into a singular

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passion and let anything incidental

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pass on by, like tiny pebbles

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through a siv. It can be

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a superpower, and must have been

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for millennia, our evolution would

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have surely weeded out this

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trait from our population.

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If you spent your life feeling

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shame and confusion about your ADHD

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mind, you should know that nearly 7% of

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the world is like you, probably

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a lot more. It's normal and

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even amazing if you channel

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it effectively. Far more than

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7% of the 150 plus guests

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on Design Better have ADHD minds

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and they're doing inspiring work. Instead

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of pathologizing ADHD,

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perhaps we should celebrate it

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as a different and often

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extraordinary way of engaging with

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the world. When given the right tools

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and environments, ADHD

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thinkers can shape our

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culture and industries in

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transformative ways. To read and

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share this episode with friends and

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