[image: feature-image_hue23332783042532604b823b07f5a54c6_877953_1600x1200_fill_q75_box_center.jpg] Our natural inclination is to play. So if you have problems focusing – as a kid or adult – what you may find helpful, first thing in the morning, is play! Where I grew up, my friends and I used to play badminton every morning at 6 am. Sometimes, we’d wake up earlier, at 5 am, and we’d set up the nets and start the games at 5.30 am – the moment daylight showed its face. We’d play for at least 2 hours, but sometimes, 4. The competition was amateur but intense. What I discovered was “once we got play out of our system, we could focus a lot better at school, college and work than if we didn’t play and went straight to our workplaces or educational institutions, instead. “ A lot of kids and adults in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia suffer ADD (attention deficit disorder) Why – nobody really can say with 100% accuracy. Refined sugar, processed foods, chemicals, caffeine, and tea – they may all be issues as they speed up the digestive system. When this happens, we extract fewer nutrients from the foods we eat (many contain none at all). We then suffer deficiencies like: · Zinc (the no. one cause of male and female infertility) · Potassium · Magnesium (mood disorders all occur here) · GABA we rely on it for alertness) · Oxytocin (only natural foods contain it – oxytocin is the chemical of trust – you can’t do business or build relationships unless you have this chemical on your side) · And other plant based nutrients Kids and adults with ADD are more playful, mischievous than kids and adults who have not been diagnosed ADD Nobody has really asked why. A few years, I asked the question and started observing people with the diagnosis of ADD without getting in their way. I saw brilliance, I saw creativity, I saw an aptitude to learn and master new skills I had never seen anywhere else before. What I also saw was sadness at being singled out for criticism – for being hailed as different, there not worthy of love and in some cases, even existence. But I saw some kids and adults who had played their way out of their issues with ADD They all played a sport or they did something they loved – whether it was pottery, art, craft, coking or gardening. Or film making. Through their chosen activity, they were able to forget the horror of their past, but even better, they were able to make sense of it and put it behind them – without holding anyone responsible for their behavior- and most admirably, not even themselves. The connection between sport and health is clear to many parents, teachers and educators but sadly not all In my humble opinion, we are born to play not pray or work very hard – definitely not as hard as schools and colleges make us, anyway. It appears to me that focus is related to play. And when we start our day with play – get it out of our system, so to speak, focus not only becomes possible, it also becomes EMINENT in our lives. ADD can affect anyone at any time. I don’t provide ADD diagnoses- that’s for a psychologist to do- but I enjoy counselling staff members with ADD and their peers on how they might better manage issues using Time and Patience as their key tools to do so. I conduct one on one Employee Performance Enhance sessions for clients (ADD or not) in the Marketing and Advertising Industry. For details please contact me on 0450 545 725 or email me at patrick@dsouzaconsulting.com.au