Joy as Rebellion/Joyous Rebellion

A client asked me to write about self-care and joy in these uneasy times
especially for us neurodivergent leaders.

🥇 Primary needs must come first.
That’s why they’re called “primary.”
Sleep, nutrition, rest are not afterthoughts.

😰 Leadership culture glorifies grind.
Skipping meals or eating junk food on the fly.
Bragging about how little sleep you need.
Worship of busyness.

🗯️ Layer on top ADHD childhood messages:
“You’re not enough. Try harder.”

➡️ So when ADHDers step into leadership,
we inherit hustle culture
AND we carry internalized gaslighting that “harder” is our proof of worth.

🚫  But harder was never the problem.
ADHDers aren’t lazy.
We were misaligned, unsupported, misunderstood.

➡️ Now,
When ADHD leaders burn ourselves out,
we cut ourselves off from our strengths:

🔶 Creativity
🔶 Compassion
🔶 Resilience
🔶 Innovation

To lead effectively, you need to take care of yourself.
✨ “Put on your own oxygen mask first.”

But I like to add,
☺️ “You deserve peace, simply because you do.”

Instead of “try harder,” what you actually need is to:

🔷 Protect sleep
🔷 Schedule nutritious meals
🔷 Build joy rituals into the day

❔What do joy rituals look like for you?

🥋 For me, it’s “kata breaks.”

➡️ When I owned my restaurant, I would go outside to practice kata.

🙌 The benefits of my joy ritual were so obvious to my team,
when I became stressed out they would insist I go take a kata break.

Reframe destructive thoughts:
🧠 You’re not being lazy, you’re being strategic.

And if rebellion activates your tactical spite, do it!
🧘‍️ “Joy is how I claim my agency
against a culture that wants me to burn out.”

BTW, my question wasn’t just rhetorical.
I really do want to know,
❓What do joy rituals look like for you?

✨ The 21st century needs ADHD Leaders.
If this is you, I want to support you.

💪 Ready to start?
Book a free exploration call.

👀 Intrigued?
Comment, DM me, or keep reading my posts.