I recently went to see the movie Avengers: Infinity War and spent an entertained few hours watching different things happening to some of my favourite characters in all of fiction. Essentially a big, powerful alien is gathering up a bunch of powerful relics from the beginning of time. Divers alarums.

“From the dawn of the universe, there was nothing. Then, boom! The Big Bang sends six elemental crystals, hurtling across the virgin universe. These Infinity Stones each control an essential aspect of existence. Space. Reality. Power. Soul. Mind. And Time.”

The alien is placing each Stone into a powerful Gauntlet that allows him to control them. He is also super powerful on his own. Any “mere human”, for example, that touched a Stone directly, just instantly burns up and explodes. Even when they are harnessed within objects, the Stones are unpredictable and potentially dangerous to the wielder.

It occurred to me that we, people with ADHD, tend to try and use the Stones all the time. Don’t get me wrong, we can be super powerful in many areas, but when it comes to bending Reality and Time, it often backfires on us.

Let me give you an example of a time when I try and use the Reality Stone to alter what is real, and it bites me in the backside.

Whenever a client asks if I’m available for a coaching session on a Friday, my hand invariably begins to stray toward the Reality Stone. Because I do not have other plans on Fridays, so in that sense, I am “free”. However, this is because I work very hard to keep my Fridays empty of any plans, either personal or professional, in order to have a day off. It is a day set aside for recharging my introverted batteries.

I sometimes bend reality and schedule a session. This means I’m working on my day off. A contradictory statement. Not to mention the fact that I’ve technically double-booked myself, for both work and relaxation at the same time. Not having a day off for two weeks won’t cause me to dramatically burn up and explode, but it does cause damage. I twisted reality and I have to pay the price.

Then there are the instances when we, as ADHD people, try and use the Time Stone. This can work in both directions. Convincing ourselves that something will take 10 minutes when it actually takes 2 hours. Or convincing ourselves that something will take us literally forever when it actually takes 10 minutes. Or we might trap ourselves in an infinite time-loop, of worry and anxiety.

Knowing with certainty what is Real and How Time Works is challenging for ADHD. My struggles with the Reality Stone are really about boundaries, at the core. I want to always be available to my clients so I can assist them. But if I work myself into burnout, I won’t be any good to them at all. In my experience with the Time Stone, it is somewhat about practice and awareness. Either I gather enough information about how I work and use that knowledge, or alternatively, I implement fierce systems that take time out of my hands entirely and place it in the hands of technology.

In conclusion, messing around with reality and time has not ended well for me. Because I’m not a big, powerful alien with a shiny gauntlet.

When have you struggled with bending reality?