Healthy Living by Willow Creek Springs
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Healthy Living by Willow Creek Springs
Rewriting Attention: Trauma, Faith, And The Power Of One Focus with Ron Souers
Ever tried to outrun your brain? Ron Souers did—until speed and stress nearly cost him his job. Our conversation traces that moment of reckoning to a new framework for ADHD: not a defect to hide, but a different wiring to understand, support, and leverage. Ron is a coach, advocate, and host of “Don’t Mind Me, I Just Have ADHD,” and he brings hard-won lessons from the shop floor to the therapist’s chair to practical routines anyone can adopt.
We unpack what ADHD really looks like beyond stereotypes: abundant attention with fragile steering, emotional whiplash that can feel like a storm, and the slower-but-richer processing that often creates depth once information lands. Ron explains how trauma and environment can shape attention systems, why the “try harder” script fails, and how acceptance unlocks better choices at work and home. The forklift story—chemical lines, a near miss, and a mandatory recertification—becomes a case study in urgency, distraction, and the power of stepping back before stepping forward.
Then we get tactical. Mindfulness isn’t a buzzword here; it’s the steering wheel. From taking the “long route” commute as moving meditation to asking “What’s the rush?” before a risky task, Ron shows how small interrupts reduce big errors. He layers in MBSP (mindfulness-based strengths practice) to pair awareness with character strengths like creativity and love of learning, and he dismantles the multitasking myth in favor of deep, single-focus blocks. We also cover sleep, hydration, movement, and faith as anchors that stabilize attention and mood, turning intention into consistent behavior.
If you’re tired of white-knuckling your way through work, this one offers clarity and tools you can use today. Grab Ron’s free training “Mastering the Moment” at youradhguy.com, check out “Don’t Mind Me, I Just Have ADHD” on your favorite podcast app, and tell us: what’s one change you’ll make to protect your focus this week? Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show.
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Well, hello and welcome back to the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumbine, and today we've got a very special guest. His name is Ron Sowers, and he's an ADHD advocate, a podcast host, and an author dedicated to empowering adults with ADHD to embrace their differences and unlock their true potential. And I like to keep intros short and let the conversation have plenty of time to talk. So, Ron, welcome to the show. It's good to have you here with us. And you know, it's funny, when I was a kid, I was known to be um, they called me hyperactive, but I'm a lot older than you. And the truth is, um, I probably had what they call ADHD now. I think everybody's got a little ADHD these days. Why don't you tell us a little bit about what that actually means? But most importantly, why don't you tell us how how did you come here? How did you come to this space and uh um, you know, tell us a little bit about your personal story?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thank you. Uh, I appreciate that, Joe, for um, you know, the space and um, you know, it's a privilege and an honor. You know, honestly, you know, how how I came to find out with ADHD wasn't like, you know, it was it was it was a lot like probably most other people's stories, and just I didn't know. Um, you know, I would say like it started because I um was about to lose my job. And um, you know, like I I couldn't slow down, I couldn't I couldn't stop, like, you know, I I didn't feel the need that I needed that but I had people in my life, like a lot of people saying, Man, you need to slow down, and I just didn't think that they knew what they were talking about. Um, you know, so like anything in my life, or you know, most people, in order to to to want to change, the pain's gotta be great enough. And for me, that that you know, losing my job was so scary. Um, because I was like, you know, I'm an addict as well. So I was in a program during that time. So I had people around me, um, you know, that understood how I was and like understood like the impact of like losing my job. So there was like there was a lot of you know good loving fear involved in that. So what that ended up prompting me to do was go to my uh physical, I mean my uh primary care doctor and saying, hey, look, I I can't slow down, uh afraid I'm gonna lose my job, I don't know what to do. Um what do you what do you suggest? And she kind of really didn't drew a blank, and I was like, maybe I have ADHD, and she kind of didn't look too convinced, but I just but she still gave me a list of like psychologists and therapists, like run down, which was you know not the easiest thing to do because I I don't even know which one I need first.
SPEAKER_01:How how old are you at this point? I'm 44 today, but I mean this at when you're going through this oh when when it was like two, three years ago.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01:So this was pretty recently, yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00:So yeah, like I went through that list and I was able to find the therapist that I actually uh still talk to today. And um, you know, like one of the first things that he said to me that really stood out was like this this can actually be you turned into a strength, yeah. Like if you do the work. And you know, I was like, I don't know, like I was just so elated at that time that like I knew what it was, that there was help, and I thought, hey, look, if I just do what he says, it's gonna be cured, right?
SPEAKER_01:Somebody knows about this, it's not just like this mutant alien virus that nobody knows what to do with.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm not all alone, and you know, um, other people have have gotten better with it. So, you know, I'm just gonna trust this guy and uh, you know, do what he says and and just see, you know, at least try what he says and you know, try to implement that in my life. And one of the biggest things that that made an impact was like he said, to drive to work, like you're taking the long way. So I literally went and took the long way to work. So I got I went extra early, and um, you know, it it was it was like a bit of meditation, and that definitely helped, but it was like a mountain to like an impossible mountain that I that I didn't think, you know, there was a lot of pitfalls where I just didn't think that I could slow down, and you know, um, but uh but I had good people in my life that that were helping me along that journey.
SPEAKER_01:So was this something that you've dealt with all your life, or did you notice that it became more pronounced as you got older?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, it it like yeah, looking back, yeah, I definitely remember. I remember this one time that I was like, I like I love to go fast in cars that didn't really go fast, but you know, I was like, man, I'm a I'm a speed racer. And I remember this one time in particular where I was like going to like my best friend's house, and like there was like this thin gap, and my sister was in the in the car beside me, and I was just like flooring it and going, you know, I'm going on the side of the road to get past that, and she was so scared, and I was like, Man, I don't know why you're scared, because like I got this, you know, but like looking back, like that could have been you know, very that could have a second wrong and boom, it's all over, yeah. Yeah, so like I live my most of my life like that, like you know, thinking that that was normal, thinking that's what I needed to do.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, and when you're going through school, I mean, let's go back into high school or or college or or you know, just your your school age. Did you find that you had uh struggles? Like for me, I never went to college or at least no more in a couple semesters. But um when I was in grade school and high school, I I was always fidgeting and and you know doing stupid crap because I couldn't keep my mind on the subject matter unless it was really interesting. And if it was, I'd lock in and I couldn't let it go and I'd be obsessed with it. But you know, I was always the one moving around doing stupid crap and getting you know put off to the corner because I was disrupting everybody.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. I definitely had um, you know, times like that. Like for me, art was was something that always was was something that that drew me to it. You know, I ended up you know winning a a couple of uh awards for my art and art class. And um, but like everything else, it just like I think I was interested in science a little bit, but you know, it really depended on the teacher, right? And I really just coasted through you know high school and got, you know, I remember um you know, hiding out in the bathroom um between classes and just you know, because like I just felt so different, you know. I didn't really think that I could make friends and like I didn't find out till recently like that was actually uh a deeper trauma when I was in like second grade um that I had actually stood up on on in in the class on a desk and thought like you know, to try to get friends, to try to be funny. And uh my teacher did not like that, and she ended up putting me in the front of the class, and I think I got made fun of. Um, so it was like I just felt, you know, I like my mom told me that you know, I I I told her like I just didn't feel like I I would rather disappear than go back to school, you know. So I remember seeing a lot of therapists growing up, but you know, none of them were able to really connect the dots, you know, that it was just like anxiety, and I didn't really like listening to them. I was just going to you know appease my children.
SPEAKER_01:Right, right. So now you got this this therapist that you think has got the answers. Um, how how uh tell us a little bit about how that went.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it was it was a process in a you know, and like in the beginning, you know, I was like, okay, I'm gonna fix this, I'm gonna do whatever he says, and we're gonna get past this, and like I don't so I don't have to see therapy, you know, like it was just another um box to check off, you know. So there, you know, and I had success in there, and you know, I definitely learned to slow down, learn the value of like analyzing my thoughts and like really questioning, you know. One one question that I you know I still ask myself is like, what is the rush?
SPEAKER_01:You know, like I've left just to hurry.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I've left early enough, right? Like, but I'm I'm speeding down the road, like I'm gonna get there on time.
SPEAKER_01:Like hurry up so you can sit there and wait.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so you know, that question definitely helps to like okay, bring me back in the moment and like really, you know, analyze what I'm doing. But it's like so I ended up leaving, um, you know, and saying, like, hey, you know, I've I think we've this has run its course, you know, I'm I can apply what you've taught me in my life. So what ended up happening was like I got a um um a different position in my job that required me to to operate a forklift uh around dangerous chemicals, uh the raw chemicals and putting it, it was like a mixing role. And um, you know, I was you had to pay attention. Yeah, I was like, and and that that same need to like go fast took over again because I'm learning a new position. I want to make sure that they they they are right, they made the right decision. I want to show them, but like I ended up running into like a reinforcement pole, almost taking that out, and like punks flipping drums and like you name it, like crushing pallets. Like it was crazy. And and like, you know, the final thing that really, you know, uh broke the camel's back, if if you will, was like I was pulling down, you know, I was lowering the forks and it hit this little um little beam that was like right next to these chemical lines. So if it went over a little bit more, but in my mind, I'm like, it's just it's just a beam that like it shouldn't even be there because it's not even on the other side. But honestly, like you know, now that I'm looking back, it's like I'm glad that happened. Yeah, because but in that moment, I was so scared, like I was so full of stress and fear, like I was gonna lose my job, and you know, and and you know, like after evaluating that with you know my sponsor, and like fortunately I had time, like you have this health and safe time, so I took the rest of the day off because they they immediately were like, you know, you need to get recertified on on, and there was no one there to do that. So like I had to have somebody else operate the fork truck for me, and so I left, and I was just like, I did, you know, I needed to, I needed, I needed to step off that situation and evaluating it. I was like, you know what? I need I need to go back to my previous position because like me and four and heavy machinery do not mix because like I was literally going back. That's when I went back to my therapist and was like, you know, we came up with a game plan for slowing down, and I was doing good, and you know, and then that happened. So it was it was so frustrating because it looked like to everyone else, like I just didn't care, and I was just but I got distracted in that moment, so I understood like anything, it doesn't matter how hard I work or how much training I get, like it it could just be any little distraction, and you know, uh I I could end up it could it could be worse than that. So, you know, during that process, like I I wanted to look for you know a different job, like a day because I you know I was like I'm working around dangerous chemicals, period. Right, so like that that's not good with distraction.
SPEAKER_01:So better choices to make when you can't keep your mind your mind on a on that subject there, yeah, yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_00:So like I started looking into like how ways to make like side hustles, and you know, one of them was like what the podcast. Okay, really I've really found that I had a passion for talking about mental health, and then I wanted to kind of niche it down to be like ADHD in the workplace because it was like you don't get a lot of that, you know, talked about like what tools you can use, what how that shows up, and how you can talk about it, how you can advocate for it. So I really started to build that and build, you know, started doing a lot of research, and you know, I found that it was like pretty difficult to find the information. You really had to do some digging. Like now it's it's still, but I feel like it's all out there, it's just so scattered, right? So like you know, it it's not like synthesized.
SPEAKER_01:There's so much information and in in so many places that separating good information from bad information, or like you said, connecting relevant information together, like a lot of times people will you know collect a dozen different terms for a dozen different um uh conditions and throw them all into the same batch as though they all belong together. And you know, somebody's gotta figure out what what what what goes where. So I hear the term ADHD a lot, and frankly, I don't even know exactly what that means. Why don't you share with us really what what is ADHD?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, ADHD is you know basically the term means uh attention hyperactive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. So that name is totally confusing on its own because like I don't lack attention, I don't have a deficit in attention, I have an abundance in attention, I just don't know how to focus it. Okay, and like hyperactivity was kind of thrown in there because you know, that fidgeting, that you know, not being able to sit still, racing thoughts, you know, and like like you can tell, like I have that hyperactivity, but a lot of it is combined because there's the inattentive side, you know, where people are just you know, they seem like they're lazy or they seem like they're slow or they seem like they don't care, you know. It's it's really their their brain is it's so hard for them to like put things together that it's like they're just doing literally the best that they can. So when when you have like a combination of those two, because like I I it when when it comes to like complex information, like uh it takes me a long time um to really absorb it, but when I do, it's it's it's like set in there, and then I can see it in a different way. I compare like the ADHD brain to a high definition printer because it's gonna take longer to process that information, but it but the picture is gonna have so much more quality, so much more detail, and like that's where and another aspect of it is that emotional dysregulation. So it's like you could be feeling great one minute, and then you know, something happens and then you're down in the dumps, or or you're completely angry, like your emotions are so like all over the place, right? You know, and and a lot of times you don't know how to express that, and that comes out as anger or frustration, you know, and and that's that's one of the things that like why I started like wanting to coach that because I became like a human guinea pig of like, okay, what does this work? What does this do? And you know, like seeing what has the best benefit in the most like simple way to do that, because it's like there's all these great things out there that you know kind of touch on the uh surface level of it, but they don't go really to the deeper core issue of ADHD.
SPEAKER_01:So the last word of that acronym is disorder, and so I I look at that as you know kind of like a um not a disease necessarily, but uh uh a situation where your brain isn't working the way a quote normal brain would work. And there's all these reasons for these things to happen, and it could be genetic, it could be environmental, it could be um trauma induced. Um so what is the the genesis of this particular type of symptom syndrome, or is there just one or is it combinations of things for different people?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, like you said, there's no real normal brain, like there's everyone has like something that's the everyone has strengths and everyone has weaknesses, basically. Um, I think that that disorder just gives it such a negative connotation, it really just is a difference. Like it's it's just your brain developed differently, and and it is trauma-induced. Um, a lot of it, from my understanding, is like when when you're born before you were even born, when you're being created, like um the trauma that your the mother is going through, like has a direct impact on the way that your brain develops, you know, and and like parts of your brain get overdeveloped, and part of your parts of your grain brain get underdeveloped, it develops with the same energy, but like different parts. So even in even that process, and this this is something that I've learned from Dr. Gabor Mate, and like he's an incredible source of like information, and and he really like the difference between him and most people that study it in science is he adds that spirituality and emotional element to it because you can't really figure out what the problem is without looking at those details as well. So it's like um, and and even the trauma can can happen early in in childhood from like neglect, you know, because a lot of a lot of people don't understand, and and I didn't for a long time that neglect can actually be a very powerful um traumatic event.
SPEAKER_01:100%. I we've had a number of guests talk about a number of ways that can play out from uh different types of syndromes to I mean, I it it it's it's wild how a neglected child can manifest that trauma uh in so many different ways. And and I keep seeing it happen over and again. So you've gone through a number of different solutions. Why don't you tell us a little bit about some of these solutions and the ones that have worked best for you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I would say like um, you know, just being like vulnerable about it, you know, and acceptance, like a deep level of acceptance of like, hey, I have ADHD, that's not gonna change. Let's see how I can move forward. It's not a problem, it's not something that's you know, uh like makes me less than or better than anybody else. It's just the way I am, just like I need glasses, right? Like I don't just say, Well, I need glass, I need to fix my eyes or like do something crazy. I mean, there's obviously laser surgery, but like, you know, honestly, it's it's it's it's like one of the biggest tools that I found beyond that is mindfulness, yeah. You know, and mindfulness is is so powerful because like you know, with especially with racing thoughts and and being able to control that, it's like exercising your brain, right? It's like literally like being able to control it.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly what it is, really. Yeah, it's it's uh it's it's like mental calisthenics. You get in there and you you gotta go down all the way and come up all the way, and and when you cut it, it's it you got a little something from it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely. And and and I so I I've really explored that to a deeper level, and you know, I found this thing called MBSP, which is mindfulness-based strengths practice, and you know, it combines character strengths with mindfulness to create like this next level of like understanding of like, you know, so we all have care different character strengths, and they all show up in different ways. And like uh for me, my you know, one of them's you know, one of the top ones is creativity and love of learning. So when those two like really like come together, when I'm loving learning and then and then create like my brain lights up, you know. So like it's and it's being mindful of those things. Um am I using too much creativity or am I am I you know and coming up with too many ideas? And like maybe I need to add some prudence in there and be like, look, I can only focus really well on one thing, even though I think I can multitask, but in my experience multitasking conundrum, right?
SPEAKER_01:Everybody thinks I'm multitasking, I'm better. Worst thing you can do.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it actually doesn't exist, it doesn't work, you know, because like it's it's that trend, it actually slows you down, slows down your progress. It's like when and and you look at focus and like understanding focus, like what your mind focuses on is like what you're gonna produce in your life. So you look at light, and like light, if you put it under a magnifying glass, it's well, you just look at light and it's it's harmless, it lights up the room. But if you put it under a magnifying glass, you can burn stuff. You good if you even focus it even stronger, you can cut through steel like a laser, like a laser beam, yeah. So that's the same way your mind works. If you are completely focused on one thing and non-stop and without any distractions, which is difficult for somebody with ADHD, sure, but like that's what I do. Like I coach them like every for me, every person with ADHD is like somebody, you know, a man with ADHD is is buried treasure.
SPEAKER_01:Right, right. Well, I can say definitely this conversation. I wouldn't suspect that you dealt with ADHD. So you've definitely um, you know, you you have a a focus through the conversation, your your tempo has been laid back, paced, and everything about it. Like I've had guests that are pretty manic, you know, and I I get excited, I get manic sometimes and just like speed up and just get into it, you know. But you really um had a good good level demeanor through this. Why don't you tell us a little bit about your podcast and how the people that you're helping and and how that's all working?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I appreciate that and you know that observation and and and uh you know that means a lot. Yeah um so with my podcast, it's called Don't Mind Me. I just have ADHD. You know, I I have you know single episodes where I where I talk about certain um topics that are particularly interested in me and that that have had an impact and and I believe will help other people. Like I did this ADHD and trauma series. So it was like this whole arc of you know how how it happens when you're born, like what happened, like growing up as a child, what what how your parents are involved, how the environment is involved, how how that can lead to addiction. Like it's it really goes deep into you know, like exploring like all these things contributed to who you are today. It wasn't just one thing, so we can't just address those one thing and and coming up with solutions in those things, and and and not in a way that's like, oh, these are all bad, and like this is the problem. No, it's like there's good things in them, but understanding them helps you to make an educated decision moving forward.
SPEAKER_01:Everything cuts both ways. People don't realize that there is no good or bad. I mean, it I mean, there is good and bad, but most everything has a little bit of both in it. And it depends on what you're doing with it and what you're putting it with, and you know, there's so many, so many variables. I think that's that's good. The the solutions in health are generally unique to each individual and the complex set of circumstances that are involved.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely. And and and mental health is so important to the whole dynamic of it, like understanding how your brain works and like what's what's what's a good amount of sleep, what what what I need to do to be able to focus, like the proper amount of water, like that's so important to, you know, and if your mental health's not good, you're not gonna care about exercise and you're not gonna care about the rest of the paradigm. Right. You know, so like and and and I believe that like you know, in my life, like when when you're more God-centered and you put God in in first in your life, like everything else falls into place because you understand why you're here, you understand God doesn't make mistakes, and if he made you, he made you out of love.
SPEAKER_01:You bet 100%. That's a that's a that's a a wise observation. Listen, Ron, uh this happens to me almost every time we run out of time before we run out of conversation. I I want to invite you to um wrap your thought up into a central point to bring to the listeners, but I also want to invite you to come back to continue this discussion at a future time because I feel like we really just scratched the surface of of this. And uh I have a number of guests that come back over and again and and get deeper into conversation, and I definitely want to extend that offer to you as well. But for our listeners, um, is there is there a central thought that you'd like to share?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it's just just uh you're worth it. Like you're worth like like I said, God created you, you have a gift, and you know it's it's it's you alone, you're one of a kind, and you're worth getting to know better.
SPEAKER_01:100%. That's a that's a powerful and beautiful thought, and it's it's important. I think if each of us were to take that uh alone and really spend time with it and realize it, and then you start forgiving yourself for the stupid things that you beat yourself up for and you start opening up doors instead of shutting them and and creating opportunity instead of walking away from things. So definitely I I would encourage everybody to take that one and spend some time with it. It's definitely uh important. Why don't you tell us a little bit about um how to find your podcast and how to get a hold of you if somebody's dealing with uh ADHD themselves and they they they want to maybe find some answers?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, definitely. If you want to like step into my world, definitely um don't mind me. I just have ADHD, is my podcast. There it's on Apple, Spotify, um, you know, your favorite platform to listen on. Um, I'm also offering your guest a video that I just made, and that's like uh free training. It's called uh mastering the moment. And um literally it talks about like you know how how to make eye contact, how to do the different things to really show up and like make a powerful first impression. You can find that at your adhguy.com. And uh there's there's several other great resources there, including you know, ways to get get in contact with me and like potentially um work with me.
SPEAKER_01:Fantastic. Well, Ron, I I this has been a great conversation. Apparently, you and I have a lot in common. Uh and you know, it's funny, I I never considered my what they called back in the 70s hyperactivity um a deficit. I was like, well, I don't know. I just you give me something I'm interested in and I'll I'll lock in. Other than that, you know, you're not that interesting. And uh I I don't think I ever let it get get to me because I kept going, you know. I always found a way to to find something else. Although, you know, I'm sure I complicated a lot of other people's lives along the way. But um I absolutely want to uh uh extend that invitation to you. I'd love to have you come back, and there's just so much more to talk about, but I want to thank you for joining us today.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, tough way. And and uh, you know, uh I'm humbled and honored that you'd you'd have me back and and and I'd love to.
SPEAKER_01:Wonderful. Well, this has been another episode of the Healthy Living Podcast. I'm your host, Joe Grumbine, and I'd like to thank all of our listeners that make this show possible, and we will see you next time.
