One Month In: A Launch Recap I Christine Howe & Bekah Bernard

Christine Howe: Welcome to Hyper Focus and High Performance with Christine Howe, where we explore how you can work with your brain, build your dreams, and live on purpose with more clarity, creativity, and presence. Becca, welcome to Hyper Focus and High Performance. Thanks for coming back. Of course, this is one of my favorite things to do. Awesome. Well, we are celebrating one month of the podcast launching in We thought maybe coming to discuss just kind of at a high level as a recap of what's already happened would be a great idea. And yet we had so many that came out in the first month. We're just gonna take three of our guest interviews and recap them right now. And our goals for this t conversation are to talk about what each expert discussed and then also take some of those high level themes and say, well, maybe how do we help people actually do that at think time? And so are you ready for this? Yeah, I'm excited. This is gonna be great. I've loved the first like series of interviews. We're just so much fun to listen to, first of all. So it was great. And I found myself in the days after I would listen to the podcast, I found myself just repeating back little nuggets to people I would that would just come up in natural conversation. So I found them to be really practical and really helpful. So I'm excited. Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of feedback of like I took one thing I learned and it there were different podcasts that people listen to, but they'd say, I took one thing. I applied it in true ADHD visionary leadership fashion. I applied it the same day. And then, my gosh, that changed my life. Like immediately. It was a total mind shift. And one person I was talking to said, you know, Christine, like I've been involved for five years in using professionals for ADHD and for like neurological differences. I've never heard any of this. That's why we're here. And so that yeah, that was a one-off conversation where I was like throwing the boatload of all the possibilities of things she can do. And she's like, I didn't know that these things were possible. And so if there's one word that I hope that people take from the podcast, it's already come back to me in the feedback. And it is the word hope. I want people to feel like this is a place where no matter where I'm where I am, whether I am at the top of my ADHD entrepreneurship, visionary, ownership, foundership. game and rocking it, but maybe there are a couple things I could tweak. Or I am like about to just say I'm broken and I need to throw it out the window because I I just I can't. I've tried everything and there's just no hope. I just want this to be a place where you just come to know that there's a place where you can return to again and again to find those places where you can fine tune or really revamp your entire strategy. So I feel like the starting point of these podcasts really accomplish that. And so let's start with Nicole. Do you want to lead out with some of the takeaways that you had with Nicole? Yeah. So I've had some a little bit of connection with Nicole Santiago on Instagram and through you for years now. And I just find her to be such a wise person. She's so kind, she's so thoughtful, but also just so direct and so honest. And so it's just this great combination. The big thing that I took away and I found myself repeating to a friend right after I listened to the conversation was just that reminder and that encouragement that The greatest thing that we can give to our child is unconditional love. Because I think we've all found ourselves, if we're parents or people who have little kids in our lives, we find ourselves at that place where it feels like the problem is the biggest thing. So whatever problem we see all of a sudden feels bigger than the kid, feels bigger than us, feels bigger than the relationship. And Nicole did a great job of talking us through all the ways she helps families through those problems, but then ended with this amazing reminder that unconditional love is still. the most important thing that we can provide. One adult providing that unconditional love to a child can cover for a multitude of things. And that just brought me so much peace. And it was such a great piece of encouragement that I took away to to remind other people too, who are walking through difficult situations with their children because there's just a lot of things we can't control for. And that's one thing that we can show up and do every day. So for me, that was a huge takeaway. How about you? Was there anything for you that jumped out? I think there were some other really good nuggets. Yeah, there were so many. And as you're talking, I'm always like, that's good. So like what you just said, that was so good. Like there's so much out of our control with our kids, whether they have like a bully at school or a coach that is, you know, putting them down or another group of people or person in their lives that's not being that positive influence. What Nicole said was, like you said, one person, one safe adult can provide that nugget, that safe connection, that attachment place for them to come home to. That's base, as John Bowby would call it. I spent a lot of my time in my early years of studying counseling and psychology in the area of attachment and having that secure base is so important. We hear a lot about that. I have an anxious attachment. I have this and that. But it's that this is where it starts, is that one person who is that safe place for you to come back to, to return to. I also like that she was like, that doesn't mean you don't have boundaries. Like, especially with ADHD kids, you've got to have these clear places where they know this is I can come this but no further and and I can come over here. But this like this is the line. We're gonna operate within this area, but we're not going over here. We're not going over here. Like setting those clear guidelines for them is more important with them. So she's not saying love and fluff without clear guidelines and boundaries. She's saying yes and yes. Both are really important. I think the thing that stuck out with for me the most was her commitment To the child, like even. And this is maybe going back to a conversation that we've had for a lot of years too, that I'm pulling into the episode. But whether or not this child changes or heals or grows in the way that the parent wants, there can be this hope that we work. I mean, I've been in this for years, and my friends are in this for years. We're all looking for what's that therapy? What's that one thing that's going to make the difference? Is it fish oil? Is it this supplement? Is it this brain tap? Is it what is the thing? And this is where we'll come into the think time thinking is like I like to take it with a a three pronged approach. Here we go. So what do we accept as reality? Like the first layer is like, what are we accepting? Is this just who we are, is this how we operate? And I've talked about it before. Like, what if like I'm probably not gonna become some linear logical person, eighty five. I could like try for all the years, but I'm probably still gonna be creative, more emotional. more spontaneous no matter what I try to do to change myself. I have a wiring that is me. So there's this level of like I need to accept that. You know, that and so finding what are those things that I accept. The second thing is accommodations. Brain tap can be an accommodation. A time timer can be an accommodation. Having alarms can be an accommodation to help you achieve the next level with an external support. Think time can be an accommodation. Where you show up, you do the planning, but if you don't show up, it's not gonna work. You know, the week is just like it usually was. and then that third level is acceleration, where these are areas that we change and we grow and we actually get better. And these are actually areas in which I used to struggle with that. I thought I always would, but I found for me, this area was able to be accelerated. And so there's always this like dance between what thing are you trying to change and where does it fall? Is it something that's never gonna change and we accept? Is it something we can support and get better results in? Or is it something we accelerate and actually are able to push forward and heal even, grow even? Like where are those areas? And so it's gonna be different for every child, every situation. But what matters no matter what is that relationship that we have with a child. And so when it doesn't go the way we want, that's when we do the internal work of our own piece of Okay, well if I can't accept that in my child, that's never gonna change. What does that say about me? What does that mean about me? And so that's where we get the mirror out, we get our own counselors, we do our own processes. What does this mean about me that this is still bothering me? What if the answer to overwhelm isn't pushing harder, but stepping back? Hi, I'm Christine Howe. I am a licensed professional counselor, turned coach, and creator of Think Time, the first whole brain planner. If you have a visionary, creative ADHD brain, you probably don't have a shortage of ideas. You have too many things competing for your attention at once. And when everything feels important, it's hard to see what matters most. You don't need more discipline. You don't need more time. You need a way to work with your brain instead of against it. That's why I created the Think Time Quarterly Reset. In a half-day workshop, I'll walk you through my whole brain neuroplanning process, engaging the visual creative strengths of your brain before we make the plan. First, I'll guide you to relax your body to calm your mind. Then we'll review. What are you grateful for? What's working? What's not? And then we'll dream. Because most people think that they struggle with distraction when what they really struggle with is clear direction. Then we'll decide what matters most in the season, how can you get there faster and easier? Turning it into a plan you can actually do with rejuvenating rhythms, dream routines, and actions that fit your real life. You'll leave knowing what matters, what deserves your attention. And what to do next. But the real payoff isn't just getting more of the right things done in less time, it's being able to move your dreams forward without missing your life while you're building them. More clarity, more momentum, more presence. You deserve to be present in your own life. Join me for the Think Time Quarterly Reset. Build your dreams without burning. Out. So that is, I think, my biggest takeaway with Nicole. Is there anything we want to add to that before we move on to the next one? I just found it to be super relevant and super encouraging as a parent who is in the midst of doing that kind of work. My kids are all at a wide range of ages right now. And what she's saying is so true. You know, there was a point where I felt like, okay, the kids are all at different life stages, and I'm having trouble figuring out how to manage it all. And so thank God like that wisdom came through listening to think time, being connected to Nicole and and people like you. It's like, I think that if I want anyone else to be willing to ask for help with their problems, that I have to go first. So for me, that I actually ended up going to get a counselor again and just starting that process again. And it's been a while now and it was the right call and it was the right process because it helped me. I said, okay, even if nothing changes around me. I can change and I can change myself. And I know that that's the our best chance of changing anyone is starting with ourselves. And so just seeing that process, it's just so encouraging because I believe her because I'm like, nope, that's how it works for me. That's how it's worked in my life. Is I go first, I start doing the work, I model it. It allows me to think more clearly and communicate more clearly and set boundaries better, to feel my feelings. Like it helps me do all those things. I can show up then. For other people as much more grounded, much more calm, much more reliable, much more consistently. Like I can do those things when I'm taking care of myself and doing my own work. And so it's an encouragement for me to continue that. And sometimes when that problem feels so big, it could be you're just not sure where to start. And so for me, it's like, well, starting with support from me is probably a really good place to start because then I can untangle as I go. Because I'm getting what I need. And so for some of us, that might be a best friend, it might be a spouse, it might be a coach, it might be a counselor, it might be a community group, like a think time membership. There's a place that we can show up to do our work. And what that is, we can decide based on our comfort level and our needs and all of those things. But being able to have that think time process and membership, it allows me to continue asking those questions of like what's working and what's not working. And so I I'm finding over the last couple of years that I am doing this. I recognize what's not working faster. And I and my brain is used to going, okay, well, what are the options? What are the possibilities? What are the potential solutions? And it feels a little less overwhelming because I'm like, there's you know, I have that hope that you talked about in the beginning that everything can get better. And it's just a matter of continuing to stick with it and not quit on it. And so for me it's I mean, that's kind of a personal story that brings it around, but It is encouraging. And I wanted to kind of double down on what she said and share that experience because I think people need to hear that. That no matter how good or bad of a parent we feel like we are, and now no matter how great or not we think our kids are doing, we have to just continue showing up and we have to continue doing our own work. And it does help because from my experience, what I model for my kids, like who I am. when I'm being authentic, I'm being real and I'm doing my work and I'm showing up, that is actually going to that actually sticks for them much longer than what I say or what kind of changes I try to force. Or I can try all kinds of strategies, but me showing up authentically and taking care of myself and modeling good problem solving and modeling patience and kindness and doing the work so that I can do that, that goes the longest way. And so that for me, that's kind of the that is a great wrap up. And probably a a good segue into our next guest. I actually had a conversation with a parent a couple weeks ago and we talked through I bet we spent fifty minutes talking about things that she could do to support her child. And at the very end, I was like, yeah. Actually, I'm sorry, number one is actually you doing you better. And so I really think my top recommendation is you joining my thinktime membership. So you're solid. And you're good. Just exactly what you're talking about. Like you did your stuff. You are grounded so that you can lead your family well. And it was so funny how like I forget. I'm like, yeah, what I offer is actually my my top recommendation for a parent with neurodivergent kids is you take care of you. And we have a process and a system for that. So it's peaceful and productive and efficient because it's all number one, taking care of any child. with all those needs educationally, physically, emotionally, all of that, socially, that's a lot to manage. And all those pieces coming in, whether you're neurodivergent or not, is a lot to manage to support that child. So yeah. So I think what you said is great. That example is going to be just oozing into their life and it's going to be absorbed and picked up no matter what. So all right. Nicole, that was amazing. Thank you so much. Dr. Joseph Andrews, I loved this conversation with him. And I was so grateful to invite him to the conversation. I was when I met him, I was like, I want to interview you, please. And he was so gracious to come and share his wisdom. But Dr. Joseph Andrews, a Johns Hopkins educated psychiatrist who trains doctors on how to specifically diagnose ADHD. And The biggest takeaway I took away was that everything that looks like ADHD isn't necessarily ADHD. And this is not people don't talk about this enough. Everybody says, I have ADHD, I have ADHD, I have brain fog, I have bipolar, I have borderline, I have like who knows what anybody has. I have anxiety. You know, like I have depression. I have anxiety. I have like, what are all these things? There's so many different things that can look like ADHD and he gave his three step process in when you have brain fog, when you can't focus, when you have these issues where it's like, I'm overwhelmed, I can't piece it together. That is a symptom. That is not the story. And so he's saying, let's get back to find out what is the story behind this. And so he walked through his three-pronged step. And the first one is He mentioned cannabis and drugs and things that by definition destroy the connections between the neurons. And so it's such like a duh moment, right? But what he talked about was this massive uprising of teenagers while their brains are forming using this. And then the actual research that is showing that the damage is not just when you're using it, it is post when you're using it. And that broke my heart. I was like, you can hear it on the episode. I'm like, no. At this point in my journey, like I love my brain and I want to have it develop and grow. And for him to say, like, these teens, they don't even know. And they're just grabbing cannabis and it's just everywhere. And they're destroying their ability to reach their full potential. And I I was asked earlier today, Christine, why did you get into counseling? And I like, it was so people can reach their full potential. Like that's what I'm about. And so that one just stopped me in my tracks. So the second piece was the physical. And so, do you have a vitamin D deficiency? Are you feeling depressed because of that? Are you getting sleep? I mean, we forget about that. I had a seminary professor one time who had a pastor's family was telling them, like, this is. My husband's becoming like a total he's losing it, right? And so he brought this pastor in and he was like, Would you smoke a s pack of cigarettes every day? The pastor was like, no, that's bad for my body. I would never do that. And he's like, Not sleeping is bad for your body. You're driving your family crazy. Stop. Get some sleep. You know, and that story stuck with me for so long because it's like we don't think about that. And what terrible stewardship that is of our only tool to use to achieve our dreams and goals is our body. So he talks about several ways that like our body can impact the symptoms of brain frog, lack of focus, emotionality, overreactivity, all the things that we think of as ADHD, they could be something else. Then the fourth is going to be competing diagnoses for mental health symptoms. And so anxiety, depression, bipolar, like I mentioned earlier, all these other mood disorders, like all these different things. can be impacting the expression of the symptom of I have brain fog. I can't see clearly. I don't have that clarity. Like, and so this this multi-layered approach was just awesome. I loved it. So I think the biggest takeaway I took away from Dr. Andrews was not having the accurate diagnosis can actually harm you. Especially if you have something like a bipolar diagnosis where that if you take an ADHD medication, you can actually swing the manic into a bad place. And you don't want to do that. You want to destabilize with an ADHD medication. So you don't just go try ADHD medications. The importance of an accurate diagnosis is critical. And so if you have symptoms of ADHD, you just want to make sure it's an accurate diagnosis before you start taking medication. So I think that's what stuck with me was we don't want to make it worse. I'd love to introduce you to something I created specifically For brains like yours. Think Time Membership is a guided neuroplanning membership designed to help you align with your design, work with your brain, and build your dreams with more clarity, confidence, creativity, and presence. Instead of forcing yourself into systems that don't fit you, you'll learn how to plan in the native, creative language of your brain using my neuroplanning framework. Love your design, then dream, decide, do, review. Inside the membership, you'll join a community of growth-oriented leaders for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual guided planning experiences. So you'll never have to figure it out all alone. Your membership also includes access to the Think Time Neuroplanner, a whole-brain visual planning system designed to help you harness the strengths of your mind instead of constantly fighting against it. And when you join, you'll receive access to the Neuroplanning course and tutorials. Planning tools and templates, live group coaching, monthly QA, and a live onboarding session so you can begin to use the system right away. If you're ready to increase your opportunity to experience more clarity, calm, confidence, creativity, meaningful productivity, and presence while getting more of the right things done in less time with peace, not pressure, visit think-time.com slash podcast. I'd love to help you build a life that works with your brain, aligns with your design, and reflects what matters most. Yeah. Yeah. I appreciated his story of how he landed here. He looked around and he saw a need. He's extremely well educated and he has had so many experiences, but he saw that adult ADHD was just not taken seriously through. his personal experience in the medical field and in the medical education that he had. And so he looked around and said, I think that someone needs to be an expert in this. And it's like, okay, look in the mirror. I guess it's me. Like that's the what that was my version, my short version of his story, but it's really interesting to listen to. But when you have someone who is passionate about helping people and they see the need, you know, now it's because of people like him we will have better processes, better understanding better accurate diagnoses, like those things will come about now because of people like him. And so the fact that he said, All right, I can help patients, but I can also help other therapists, other clinicians, other doctors. Hopefully at some point the medical education process at some point will pick up some of this expertise. And so his starting point of patients and then expanding out into helping other experts like that's going to help so many people. And so I just, you know, it's cool to hear that story. And then, you know, one of the things I think that people often struggle with if they have some pip type of neurodivergencies, is we feel like we have to figure this all out ourselves. You know, it's tempting to just ask ChatGPT or ask someone we know, ask this friend who's a counselor or ask it's very easy to just stay reading the books, listening to the podcasts, asking AI. Like it's very easy to stay in that area because It can feel overwhelming to actually go do the research, find an expert, evaluate their credentials. That can feel overwhelming. but that's where something like we we're talking about how this is relevant to people in our membership. That's where it's helpful to have a process like think time to come back to. Because every week you come back and you go say, you say, What's working, what's not working? Well, I saw this person, I had this conversation, I learned this, but how do I take the next step? And so Getting an accurate diagnosis, as we know, it takes time and it takes the willingness to keep showing up and keep asking the questions and keep doing the research and keep getting to the next person. And it is a doable process, but to have support of a like a framework, a structure, a community to help us through it, to be learning from each other, to be encouraging each other, to be writing down hey, I'm gonna make this call this week. I'm gonna make this appointment for this time frame. That consistency of showing up. And I've seen it for other members as well, when they have these more complicated processes to work through that also probably have an emotional layer. It's really helpful to have some type of process. And so that's where you were saying before, it's helpful to start with something like this. And then this is one of those like keystone, you know, habits or keystone places that we show up. And then it helps us untangle the rest. And so that's that's where I think it's relevant to talk about the experience of the members is that we find ourselves following through on these difficult processes more than we used to because we have a process that helps us stay with it. You know, as you say that, I think one of the things that think time helps me do is like make appointments and show up to them too. And so even as simple as like making a doctor's appointment can feel overwhelming sometimes. For me, that was one of the effects. Like something like that, just I would say when I started this ten years ago, like finding a doctor, making an appointment, following through, getting myself to that appoint all those steps in life felt overwhelming. And granted I had three kids, four and under as well. But still it was like there are these seasons of life that are just they're just a lot and it's overwhelming. Another couple things that come to mind with the ADHD diagnosis, and I think we discussed this on the podcast, 80% of people with ADHD have something else happening in their life that's impacting them, most often a dual diagnosis, which makes having an accurate diagnosis even more important. And so if you're dealing with ADHD and autism or ADHD and all the things I've already listed. Knowing what you're dealing with helps you create a strategy and a plan to go forward so that you know more of what you're dealing with. And yeah, Chat GPT is not gonna help you be able to sift and sort through that, like someone like Dr. Andrews. And so I think what he's offering is such a gift. And the other thing I would like to say is as you seek your diagnosis and if you choose medication, we have a variety of opinions in the membership and they're all welcome. about what you choose and what season of life and what day you take it and all the things. But one thing to know is that when people do choose to use medications within is I think it's within one year. It might be two years, but it's one or two years, half of the people who opt for medication are not taking it. And so I think one of the most important things to do, even with a diagnosis, is to have a complementary strategy. So whether you're taking your medication Or whether you're not taking your medication, and that's a choice you make according to what you want. And also with the medicine shortages, the pricing and the shortages and all the things that are outside of our control, one thing you can control is having your complementary strategies. And so think time is in the category of a complementary strategy. So whether you're taking medication or not taking medication, it's important to know clearly what are my goals this week so that you know if you're doing something. you may have a lot going on, but you can be open input and on target, or you can be open input and it's distracting. But how do you know if it's a distraction if you haven't clarified where you're going? So like even something very simple like that, like, let's pause and say, Where am I going this week? And then decide. So I just wanted to to note like there or like brain tap, for instance, is a complimentary strategy. To do brain training or time timer is going to be an accommodation. So there are all these different layers that you build in. And then the think time membership and the planner is like the dashboard, the hub, the control room for like doctor's appointments, work projects, relational things, processing emotions, like kind of all of that happens when we're together. So again, as we're discussing getting the right diagnosis. Even if you get your accurate diagnosis and if you choose medication or if you choose not medication, you still want to develop your personal strategy, whatever that is. So I wanted to mention that as well. Hey, I loved it. I mean, these are so good. We'll see if we can make it through all the ones we wanted to, because they're so good. Everyone is so good. Lucas Lefever, this conversation, I am in his membership. I was in it this morning, and I just love his membership because it is about slowing down. Down, processing what's happening and really being able to make sense of all the things happening and going on. And so his approach is an opportunity to just kind of lay it all out and then objectively look at it and see what's there. And so I feel like it's a very complimentary, it's a complimentary membership, is what it is. It's something where you can go deeper into the emotional processing with taking the right brain, big feelings, big like everything's kind of scrambled. And then when you add the words to it, you're moving it to the left brain. And so many people in my membership community, this is actually a difficult process. And for me, it's actually a difficult process. But the thing that I appreciate about Trying to do it and then looking at it and going through his specific method allows you to go from gratitude to taking all the things in to focusing on the emotional piece to saying, God, what do you want me to take away from this? Like receiving. And so it's a really beautiful process that he's developed, and he's really fine-tuned very many details from the beginning breathing to the being still to just getting the nervous system settled. So with his episode, to me, the biggest ad that he's brought to the conversation of performance, his performance drastically increased when he started slowing down and processing his life. And so I think that is what I would like to leave and reflect on is just pausing. You know, at think time, we do that. That is what it is. Like in the brand, it is we pause. But I think that is I don't know if you all have seen that, but like it's like think time two tees, but there's also like a little pause in the middle. I just believe so much in this slow down and let it land. He told a story, I think it was yesterday or the day before. I think it was Monday in the membership where there are these guides who were taking a group of high achievers onto this mountain peak. probably in the Himalayas or something. And the first day they like really did a lot of work. They hiked really far. And then the next day they only hiked until like one o'clock and the guides sat down. And all these high achievers, high performers were like, Are we going to keep going? We rested for like a little bit. Are we and the guides were like, no, we're done for the day. And it just like drove them crazy, like, but we want to go. We want to do. And they're like, no, like we worked so hard yesterday. We have to let It was something to the effect of we have to let like our souls catch up with our bodies or something like that. And that was the way they processed it. And I I love that imagery of like let your soul catch up with all that you've been achieving, all that you've been doing, let it catch up. So those are some of my takeaways. How about you? So I loved making these things relevant and personal. And so I was able to take a little of what Lucas shared just on social media because I haven't joined his membership yet. But I was able to take what he did and some other journaling methods that I've heard and kind of do a little bit of it. And I've been doing it pretty consistently for a few months. And the biggest benefit I found to kind of for me, I like to do it in the morning whenever I can, or just if I forget, I do it whenever I remember. But just this writing that's just for me. And I'm not worried about Editing it. I'm not worried about filtering it. I'm not worried about who else is reading it. It's like me and my faith comes into it. So it's also like a there's a God level to it, but it's just these honest words. And honest in the sense that, like in this moment, this is what I'm thinking and feeling. And it doesn't mean that every single thing I write down is true. They're not final answers. They're not final decisions. It's just become a place where I process. And so almost like if you think about how quickly like a computer works and it's processing and thinking in the background. This is a tangible way that I can think and process. And then what I walk away with often are like an untangled brain, because my brain moves very quickly and I have a lot of thoughts all the time. That is just my thing. There's always a lot of words and thoughts and feelings and things running. So I can get them down on paper. And then I can kind of determine what I really do think and what I really do feel from all of that. And then From there, I can get some takeaways and I can think about what are my usually what I walk away with, interestingly, are action items. Not always, but some days I walk away with very clear, okay, these are the next steps I need to take. Not not always big decisions and big sweeping things, but the little things. Like I untangled everything and now I can see clearly that these are the next few things I need to do. And so usually I have my think time nearby because then the action items that I take away go right to my think time. And it's like, that's great. Yes. Like it took me two pages and a to-do list. My last item was finally the most important thing I've been trying to remember to do for a week. But it took me all through that. And then I go, I need to call and make this appointment. It took five minutes and it took up a lot of minutes over the last week trying to remember to do it at the right time. So it's it's a small example, but I just love the process and I feel like it's it can be identity forming. If you're someone like me, who feels like you're very open to outside input to the point that sometimes you don't even know how you think or how you feel or what your plans and dreams and thoughts are, this process can be formative because it gives you a space to have a conversation with yourself andor with God, however you think about it. And for me, it's helping me start to determine where I stand on certain things and what I really think and what I really feel. And so this process of untangling to me is extremely important and even to the point of I think identity forming. And so that's my takeaway of that process. I think it's super valuable. And I think it's worth a try because if you're not a journal or you're not a writer, it can feel silly. But when you remind yourself it's just for you, it doesn't have to be edited. You can literally rip them up or burn them when you're done if you want to. Like it doesn't have to be in a fancy book. It could just be on plain paper or a notebook or a loose leaf or, you know, but I think you could do it in your phone, but I really think there's something important about the pen or pencil to paper. I'm a big fan. And that's why I like my think time, my paper, you know, my actual book think time. I think there's something really valuable and something much more memorable. You could probably nerd out on that. We could do a whole episode on that for sure. That would be a good one, actually. I think that, you know, why would you use a pen and paper instead of an app? Yeah. There's there's some good research behind it and that's pretty conclusive. It's not even I don't think it's even much of a conversation. Yeah. I think I like what you said about the action items because I found the same thing with me. In the middle of me, I'll have the pop yeah. And I I tend to like put put it at the top of my journaling page. But when I do have my think time with me, it just think time is it's the action center really. And so when I'm processing those things pop up into our brains so then we capture them, transfer it to the think time, but keep processing those emotions. But let them come. See, I always have them tandem as well, which is so funny. I love that you said that. I have the exact same experience over here. And I also like that you talked about the identity formation. I think that's really key for those of us and we've talked about this several times. I don't know if it's come up on the podcast yet, but most of the people who find themselves in the think time membership for whatever reason, and maybe we need to do some researching into this, tend to be people who have put off prioritizing themselves and prioritizing their own thoughts and their own feelings and they You know, there was, I would say for me personally, like I would describe myself as endlessly flexible. And I literally remember having friends in college and they were my friends. And I didn't see anything wrong with it. I was like, they like to make plans. I hate making plans. Sure, we'll be friends. What that turned into was maybe not the healthiest dynamic with some of those friends. Those were people who needed people in their lives who would say yes and who would do what they wanted. And so then I ended up with people who were more self-centered and had one thought or feeling about their lives. And so that was a pattern I had to work through. But I didn't get friction with those people in my life until I had a thought or feeling or an opinion of my own. And I didn't have a thought or feeling or opinion of my own until about the time I started my process of doing think time. It was about that same time. And so when I started having thoughts, feelings, and I became not endlessly flexible, I did lose some relationships. And so that this is getting a little into the personal story, but these things kind of tie in. And this happens in the membership. I feel like there needs to be a warning over that. Like, You do your work, you might have a thought or feeling or opinion. And then you've got to be ready to lose or shift certain types of unhealthy relationships. And so I must have grown a lot because we've had some shifting. And so there is an identity shift. And so identity shifts have positives and they also have losses as well. But if you are ready to grow, if you are ready to say, actually, I believe I was designed to be on this earth to think my thoughts, not someone else's thoughts. And to have my opinions, not someone else's opinions, to actually take up my space that belongs to my body, not to constantly scoot over so someone else can sit down. This is the place where people are starting to unpack that type of dynamic. And so I think Lucas's his membership provides that deeper emotional processing when you get to that place of going deeper in the emotions. And then like you said, think time is more of that action place. I think that I liked your explanation before as think time as your dashboard where you're recognizing all the areas of your life and you're brainstorming out solutions and you're recognizing progress and you're reviewing and so Lucas's is like a way to go to deep dive into thoughts, feelings and emotions with words where with think time we're using a different part of our brain to evaluate and to plan to dream to to you know to schedule like we're doing those things but the thing that's helpful is like you said they complement each other the two type the two processes and they are ways that work for those of us no matter how creative our brains are there's space for us in these processes and they feel a little out of the box because for many people having a calendar And having maybe a journal or not even a journal are enough for them to manage their lives and they may not feel like they need these accommodations. But for us, we're like, no, I need a place for my thoughts because I have a lot of them and I need a place for my feelings because they're important to me. And I need a better process to plan and live out my day to day because just a to-do list and a planner by themselves are not enough. And there's no shame in that. It's actually something to celebrate because We are going to go further, faster. We're going to be able to do that acceleration you talked about before because now we have these processes that work for us. Yeah. As you're talking about, I'm remembering how I think of this. I'm like, I remember. Yeah. Basically, like if you want to calm down the big emotions, you go right brain to left brain, right? In a sense of like it's like and then you bring down the words to it. Sometimes what we find with goal achievement. And getting to the dreams is actually we have to activate that motivation. We have to clarify what is it that I want. And so that's where like with think time, we sit around, we actually go into the right brain more to to dig to like stoke the fire. Yes. Because when your engine is a hot, has a hot, like if you're like a steam engine or whatever, when you're in the 1800s. we're stoking that fire and I always call it the bullet train, like it's a bullet train bypass. Like if you know where you're going, you have your destination clear and the tracks laid down, you're a bullet train. And if a tree falls on the tracks, it's not gonna stop you. You're going. And so this is where we're going, this is what we're doing. And then we get that clarity that really drives through the distractions in the think time membership. What Lucas helps with that I think is fabulous is really calming So we're kind of stoking and getting clarity and we're we're moving with think time. With the Lucas' membership, there's like this calming clarity. It's a different kind of clarity. I don't know how to explain that better than that, but you're bringing words to your experience to get clear. It's like this real, it's a left brain clarity, if that makes sense. So I'd say like maybe we're like more right brain clarity and he's more bringing it to that left brain to get that clarity. And that's that is literally the actual location of the language. Like it's in the left brain. And so I'm not making this like random example. And that being said, we've learned a lot about the brain in the last five or 10 years. And everything is actually more interconnected than we think. So what we think of as right brain thinking and left brain thinking is what we're discussing. But I think these three podcasts are so valuable. And we're going to need to pick it up next time with the fourth guest. So we made it through three. We'll summarize this, but I think is there a through line between these three? I mean, focus on what matters most, slow down, remember love. We need others to thrive and to survive. And our brain is there to protect us. And so we start with relationships, love, how do we support each other? With Doctor Andrews, I'd say the central piece is that clarity, knowing where you are, so you can have an accurate way to step forward. And then Lucas is another just like really knowing where you are, like letting things come in, slow down so you can receive what's happening and then rise above it and evaluate it, get the clarity. And I love that you said the action steps that it is true. He always ends with an action step in the membership. So I really I can't recommend double dipping between think time and in the Holy Work more. I think it's a really good pairing. I love it. Well, and I'll end what as I always like to do is just with a piece of encouragement. And so my connection with these three amazing guests that you've had are just that we're not alone. That is one of those lies. That's one of those thoughts that just isn't true that gets thrown at us a lot is that we're alone in this. We're the only one who's gone through this. No one would understand. And that's not true. And these three guests are proof of that. So whether you're struggling with something and you're parenting and you need to reach out to someone like Nicole or Or you're struggling with getting an accurate diagnosis and you can look at the work that Dr. Andrews is doing, or you're just struggling with literally thoughts and feelings and those soundtracks that run in our brain that are just not helpful. And you need some clarity on like there's three great examples. And I can't wait for people to hear the other podcasts and the other guests who are also people who are just doing work and putting it out there and generously living their lives so that other people don't have to struggle with the same thing as they've struggled with. So Thank you for the work you're doing, Christine, and thank you to all of your guests. I'm just loving everything that's happening with the podcast so far. Thank you for joining me for this recap episode and we'll just keep coming. We'll we'll have more conversations about our conversations and keep them going out. Thank you for showing up and being here and being a part of of this launch of the Hyper Focus and High Performance podcast. It I'm so thrilled with the energy behind it and the impact that it's already having. So thanks for celebrating with me. My pleasure. Thank you. This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and isn't a substitute for individualized medical, mental health, or professional care. Every brain is different. Results will vary. Thank you for listening to Hyper Focus and High Performance. If today's conversation helped you think differently about how your mind works, I invite you to take the next step. Visit think dash time.com/slash podcast and grab my free training. Why can't I find a planner that works for me? If you've ever felt frustrated, Judged even by yourself, overwhelmed, or simply wondered why everyone seems to be able to follow a system that simply doesn't work for you, you're not alone. In this free training, you'll discover how your brain naturally approaches focus, planning, and productivity, and why many traditional systems were never designed for minds like yours, and whether neuroplanning could help you increase your opportunity to experience more clarity, calm, confidence, creativity, and meaningful progress. With peace, not pressure. And if this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more brilliant, creative ADHD visionaries can discover what's possible. Remember, you don't have to become someone else to do what only you can do. 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