By Heath Ellenberger, NASM, CPT, NPTI, Operational Partner/Franchisee Orangetheory Fitness
Have you ever tried to get into reading a book and feel like you have to read each sentence three to four times to actually comprehend it? Or how about someone is having a conversation with you and the only thing you can think about is the five other conversations happening in your own head? Maybe those two examples didn’t hit home… Ok so let’s try one more. Have you ever tried to watch NFL network and you have six games on at the same time? Ok, now we are talking your language! Does you brain feel like that on a daily basis? Like you are watching ten different shows at the same time. Never really getting the context of any them just visually seeing them.
Well if you can relate to any of the above scenarios, I have good news for you. You’re not alone – you’re not a weirdo. Maybe I’m the first person to tell you that. I didn’t find out till much later in my life, that I wasn’t alone or a weirdo.
I WAS A BASKET CASE IN SCHOOL
It all started in second grade in Mrs. Gerwins class. I did several things that landed me a teacher-assigned trip to sitting under a clothes hamper in time out (back when teachers could do that). For example I would just start to wander around the classroom while she was teaching whatever it was that my young overly active brain wasn’t interested in learning. There was also the time when I was crawling underneath desks grabbing kids ankles and biting them – I really didn’t know what else to do with myself.
So after multiple parent teacher conferences they suggested my parents take me to see a doctor and possibly a psychologist. Certainly it didn’t have anything to do with teaching that wasn’t keeping my attention. It was MY problem. Ok got it.
So after many doctors visits, and talking with someone who made me play with puppets. I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder. All that meant to me as I got older was that I had to work two to three times as hard as everyone else to learn stuff. I learned later that is not the case. It’s not a work ethic problem, it’s a focus problem. Wish I would have known that when I wasn’t about to graduate high school.
School became tough, so I started to pour my attention into things that came easy – things like sports and weight training. I found weight training was the only thing I could actually sit down and read about for longer than ten minutes. Before I take you any further off track (see this is the problem) lets go back to how the doctors decided to treat the problem.
Great+ER Results When You Lead Like Jesus
Watch a portion of Heath’s presentation from the 2019 Faith & Fitness Magazine Redefined Conference.
THE MEDS MADE ME DO IT
I was prescribed different stimulant medications. I’m not going to say meds are evil and shouldn’t be used. They absolutely have their place. When I was younger I guess I really didn’t understand the effects they had on me. Perhaps I was just on them so long it became the norm. I stopped taking them cold turkey during my first year of college.
From then until I started my corporate job as a 30-year old I didn’t touch them. I can tell you they absolutely WORK! I was aware of how they made me feel when I was ‘on’, but even more aware how I felt on the down side. For me that was not the part of the medication I wanted to deal with daily. I tried a couple different types and eventually decided I would just manage without medication again.
A lot of people label ADHD as a disability, which may be true. In my adult years I learned to view it as different abilities. I have unique abilities that many people are not able to do.
MY FAST, PEOPLE-BASED, CREATIVE ‘DIFFERENT ABILITIES’
These different abilities came into clear play when I got into my profession. I have been in the fitness industry since around 2003. I absolutely LOVE the business of fitness. The motivation when I first stated was the paycheck. Now it’s different. I develop employees daily. However, the MOTIVE has always been to make a positive impact in people.
Fitness is a very fast paced industry which is great for my brain and how my mind functions. You have to quickly adapt to new situations. I believe that is strong quality of my different abilities. When you are training groups or individuals, situations pop up and you have to be able to multi-task and react quickly. That works perfectly for my ADHD.
Fitness is very people-based. I interact with many different kinds of people all day – every day. Conversations that stimulate my brain satisfy me. My energy tanks are filled by multiple conversations daily. Not everyone is like that. My wife for example finds that it drains her. We have two different brains.
Creativity is another area where I have been able to excel in this industry. All trainers have the challenge to be more creative than their competition, delivering better exercises and program design. Many however find that to be difficult to do intuitively. My different abilities have given me creative strengths in marketing, program offerings and value provide. That enabled me to separate myself from competitors when I was a studio owner. Today it helps me as I create training courses and development material for staff.
MY WEAKNESSES – THEIR STRENGTHS
God has shown me that knowing my ADHD superpowers also requires knowing where I need help. Make peace with your weakness and excel with your strengths. As the operational partner of eight fitness studios, I’m blessed to surround myself with the right people who can be an extension of myself. My weaknesses are their strengths.
I am a big picture thinker. I always have been since I was a little kid. My huge imagination and creativity often have me flying at 75,000 feet. However my day to day operations are filled with systems, processes, looking at budgets and moving the businesses forward. A high altitude vision doesn’t always work when trying to implement ground level. I’ve learned to surround myself with great leaders I trust who complement my weaknesses.
My leadership team has the powerful ability to fly in different altitudes. I can pitch an idea at 75,000 feet and quickly one will give me a 7,000-foot view. They see my vision and then bring me to see it from a different view and poke holes. Collectively we are able to come up with the right solutions to enhance our business.
WHOSE IN CONTROL HERE?
It hasn’t always been like this. I think my ADHD does have a little bit of a control issue too. I have always been the last to ask for help. I never wanted to feel I wasn’t able to complete a project on my own.
When I opened up my first fitness studio at age twenty-five, I did everything myself. It is what I wanted to do. For the six years my wife and I ran that business it were stressful. Why? Looking back now it’s clear – I was trying to control and do everything.
Stress and anxiety was a normal appearance in my day-to-day back then. Adding those elements to my already ADHD self was not a good combo. I tried many things to overcome the stress nothing was working. I ended carrying the same attitude to my next career. Never learning the valuable lesson to just let go and let God.
In 2018 I was at a career fork in the road. I had the opportunity to leave my corporate job (I was excelling at it) to take a new position that wasn’t as sure. For a month I was reading books, doing devotionals, trying to look for a sign from God. I just felt like there was a drought from any guidance.
My pastor called me right before I was getting ready to make my final decision. After I hung up I remember tears just started to roll down my face (I hate crying by the way). It was the moment when I realized that I was not in control. That’s when I knew it was in God’s timing that He would show me. You and I can’t rush God. I was trying to control my own destiny. When I finally gave the control back, to God I found the answers.
ADHD is a focus problem. Make peace with your weakness and excel with your strengths.
Giving up control has been the solution to a lot of my problems. When I exerted my choice to control I would just run with the first idea that came into my head. Now I’ve learned to lean on God to help me make the right decisions. I’ve also learned that God leads me to the right people for help.
My wife is totally a gift from God. There is no doubt that God arranged our meeting and marriage. On so many levels she has been one of the best medicines for my ADHD. She is very level-headed. God was clearly in control when He gave me her as a wife.
When it comes to work, Relationships fostered through the years have brought me to where I am today. God surrounds me with the people that he intends for me. I have given over a lot of control this year and have a team I totally trust. I have peace knowing that I trust in the direction and vision God has given me. My confidence is that He is in gracious control as I let him lead my steps.
I HAVE ADHD BUT I HAVE G-O-D!
When it comes to my ADHD nowadays…. Well I still sometimes have to read a sentence two times. I get lost in my thoughts, I have a hard time sleeping, I probably have more tabs and documents open on my computer at one time then a computer should allow! I could look at all those and think I have never made any progress. However on the inside, I am free and not bound by my issues. I am set free and made perfect in His image. He has given me these superpowers that I have now learned to use effectively.
Learn how to work with what God gives you. It’s not the end of the world if you have to take some meds to focus. Forget about what your friends think, they might just be jealous of your superpowers. Don’t try to control your issues or let your issues control you. This is not our battle to fight, so let the battle go and let God.
