😊 HAPPINESS
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” – Dalai Lama
Happiness is the patch of sunlight that finds you, even when the sky is grey. In the ADHD terrain, happiness often feels fleeting—like a firefly we can’t quite catch. But when we shift from chasing happiness to noticing it, we begin to realize: it’s already here, in moments. Small, sacred, surprising.
Happiness for ADHDers doesn’t always come from achievement or arrival. It shows up in micro-moments: laughing until you cry, hyperfocusing on something you love, feeling seen by someone who gets you, dancing in the kitchen. It’s sensory. Emotional. Alive.
This value isn’t about avoiding discomfort or pretending things are fine. It’s about letting joy coexist with struggle. About saying, “Even with everything going on, I can still feel this.” It’s radical, sometimes, to choose happiness when the world tells you to just keep fixing yourself.
True happiness often comes not from grand events, but from living in line with your values. From creating, connecting, contributing, and celebrating what’s real. For those with ADHD, it’s not always easy—but it is possible. And it’s worth pursuing—not as a goal, but as a practice.
🧭 The HOPE Trail Map
- Helps or Harms: Am I postponing happiness until I “deserve” it—or making room for it today?
- Own My Values: I want to be someone who welcomes joy, even if it’s imperfect or incomplete.
- People and Pursuits: Who brings out my lightness? What activities spark spontaneous joy or quiet contentment?
- Enact and Evaluate: Today, I’ll do one thing just because it makes me smile—not to escape, but to inhabit joy.
⚠️ Trail Challenges
- Chronic stress or overwhelm may block access to joy.
- Shame may convince us we’re not “allowed” to feel good until we’ve “done better.”
- Comparing our happiness to others’ can distort our sense of what’s real.
🪧 Trail Markers: Small Steps Toward Happiness
- Keep a “joy list” of small things that lift your mood—add one today.
- Smile at yourself in the mirror, even briefly. It’s a kindness.
- Give yourself permission to enjoy something, even if you didn’t “earn” it.
🔥 Campfire Questions for Reflection
- What makes me feel quietly, simply happy?
- When do I feel most alive—and how can I welcome more of that?
- What would it look like to stop chasing happiness and start noticing it?
Happiness isn’t a destination—it’s a moment, a mood, a little miracle you make room for. Not in spite of the journey, but because of it.
