What things give you energy?
Energy reserves:
Energy is slippery for me. With ADHD, I don’t always wake up with a neat little battery icon at 100 percent. Instead, it’s closer to an energy reserve that ebbs and flows. And sometimes that spark is bright and fast. While other times it’s dwindling with little to no warning. I’ve had to learn that energy isn’t just about sleep or food for me, and it’s more about where my spirit plugs in.
Nature:
Nature is my primary resource. Hiking trails, creeks running wild, sandstone ridges shaped by centuries of wind, and a roaring waterfall at the end of a sweat soaked trail. There is where energy is recharged for me. In those places I refill in ways caffeine never could.
The Red River Gorge or a simple forest path near home becomes a charging station for my mind and body. It’s like a Tesla charging station I didn’t need Elon Musk to build. The rhythm of my tennis shoes against dirt, the press of cool rock in my palm, the sudden flash of a butterflies wings are all part of what fuels me.
Out there, my ADHD mind isn’t too much; it’s just right. It matches the chaos of leaves, the unpredictability of weather, the endless possibility around each bend in the trail.
Advocacy:
Advocacy also gives me energy, though it comes from a different kind of spark. Speaking up, protecting minority community voices, making space for marginalized creators. This is the kind of work that costs energy and yet somehow returns it at the same time. Fighting for change isn’t easy, but it is necessary. And every time I see someone feel heard, every time a voice long silenced finally resonates, I feel that flicker of fire in my chest. That fire is renewable.
Energy:
So, what gives me energy? It’s a perfect mix curated by and for me. The rush of ADHD hyperfocus when I’m passionate. The grounding pulse of nature that steadies my racing thoughts. The charge of advocacy that reminds me I’m not just one voice, and I’m part of something larger: a collective heartbeat that refuses to be quiet. My energy isn’t always predictable, but it is powerful, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
So how do you recharge your battery?
