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Stop Leaking Energy - Reclaim it. ADHD Advantage Newsletter
You are tired. And you're being drained.
Jim Livingstone
May 13, 2026
 | Diagnosed with ADHD at 46? Feeling like you've wasted years? Like your best days are behind you? I get it. I WAS you. But here's what I learned in the 27 years since my diagnosis: Late diagnosis isn't the end. It's the beginning. At 73, I'm: · Fitter than I was at 50 (24kg lost and maintained) · Building successful businesses that work WITH my brain · Teaching thousands of ADHD adults to thrive, not just survive There's no finish line. But there IS transformation. Let me show you what 27 years of ADHD expertise looks like.. |
Read more on jimlivingstone.com.au
Your Energy Isn't Gone. It's Leaking.
📖 Quick read: 2 minutes
You wake up tired.
Not just physically tired. Bone-deep tired. The kind of tired that sleep doesn't fix.
You push through the day — answering questions, explaining yourself, managing everything and everyone around you — and by 3pm you have nothing left.
Most people will tell you that's just ADHD. That's just how it is.
It isn't.
The real problem isn't your energy. It's where it's going.
Think about the last time you were late for something.
What happened next?
If you're like most of us, you spent the next ten minutes explaining it. Justifying it. Apologising for it. Maybe replaying it in your head for the rest of the day.
That's not the cost of being late. That's the real tax.
Now multiply that across every forgotten thing, every missed deadline, every moment you couldn't focus when you were supposed to. The original mistake costs almost nothing. The explanation around it — to your boss, your partner, your kids, yourself — that's where the energy goes.
Your energy isn't the problem. It's leaking from a thousand cracks.
Hack away at the non-essentials.
Bruce Lee said it about martial arts. It applies perfectly to an ADHD brain.
When we keep adding — more apologies, more justifications, more attempts to perform "normal" — we drain the very resource we need most. The tighter we grip "normal," the more energy it costs.
The ADHD brain doesn't have less energy than a neurotypical brain. It has more leaks.
And most of those leaks aren't random. They follow a pattern.
The three biggest leaks for women with late ADHD diagnosis:
1. The Explanation Tax. Justifying why you're late, why you forgot, why you're tired. One sentence maximum. No courtroom defence. Move on.
2. The Mask Maintenance Fee. The energy spent performing competence for people who never asked for it. Every hour you spend pretending to operate like someone you're not, is an hour stolen from the work your brain is built for.
3. The Emotional Replay Loop. Rerunning the conversation, the mistake, the moment — long after it's done. Your brain isn't broken. It's stuck processing something that doesn't need more processing. Your hyperfocus is working against you.
Three questions to find your leaks right now:
1. Where did my energy go today that I didn't choose to spend it?
2. What did I explain or justify today that needed one sentence — or nothing at all?
3. What am I still replaying that is already over?
You don't need more energy. You need fewer leaks.
Plug one today. Just one.
That energy goes back to you — and you decide what it builds next.
Where's your biggest energy leak right now?
Hit reply — I read and respond to every single one. Not AI. Me.
Hat tip: Bruce Lee, Striking Thoughts
If you want the full picture of how your ADHD brain actually works — and how to redirect it — Late ADHD Diagnosis: Your New Beginning is where to start.
Here's your link www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ9M98Q7
Focus on what matters,
— Jim
Author • The ADHD Advantage • 73 Years of Connected Dots
Late-diagnosed adults don’t need to be fixed. They need the right blueprint.
Turn ADHD Into Your Advantage
👉 Find them at jimlivingstone.com.au
Download your complimentary PDF of the first two chapters.
Readers Review
“I just finished reading, I love your balance of giving the science and then being authentic. It feels easier to understand that way. I appreciate the example under limited working memory and LOVE the action steps at the end.”. - Alexxa
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