In this episode, Dr. Kourosh Dini challenges the limits of “chemistry-only” explanations and explores the deeper rhythms of agency and engagement. Drawing on Dr. Thomas Brown’s vivid metaphor—ADHD as “erectile dysfunction of the mind”—we ask: What if the real key isn’t willpower, but the mindful cultivation of agency and self-trust?

Listeners will learn:

• Why “willpower” is a problematic concept for wandering minds.
• How agency differs from willpower and why it matters for daily life.
• The power of “the daily visit” as a compassionate practice to nudge forward on tasks, even when motivation feels absent.
• How emotional waves and environmental supports can be harnessed to create meaningful engagement.
• Why practice is more about care than force, and how to honor both present and future selves in the process.

The episode closes with a personal reflection on the role of music and meaning, featuring Beethoven’s Pathetique as a metaphor for settling into rhythms of focus.

• Dr. Thomas Brown’s metaphor:
• (Referenced in the episode introduction.)
• Instagram post quote: “The ADHD brain isn’t lazy or undisciplined. It’s wired to need stronger stimulation to maintain focus.”
• Episode 4: Introduction to the “daily visit” practice.
• Episode 9: Deep dive into the concept of “injured agency.”
• Episode 14: Previous metaphor of the magnified mind and emotional waves.
• Karl Haas & Adventures in Good Music: (link) Inspiration for the musical closing and reflection on the power of loving one’s craft.
• Beethoven’s Pathetique: Featured musical piece at the end of the episode.

1. ADHD
2. Agency
3. Willpower
4. Daily Visit Practice
5. Emotional Regulation
6. Productivity
7. Self-Compassion
8. Focus Strategies
9. Neurodiversity
10. Musical Metaphors

Have you tried the “daily visit” approach? What helps you nudge forward when motivation is low? Share your experiences or questions by replying to this episode or connecting on social media.

Music for this episode: Beethoven’s Pathetique, performed by Dr. Kourosh Dini.

For more resources, exercises, and community support, visit the Waves of Focus course page or explore the Letters of a Wandering Mind series.

I refuse to believe that any science would tell me I have no free will. The slippery slope of victimhood can plague the science of ADHD Because once again, I've seen the statement.

"I do not have the interest. Therefore, I could not do it."

 Dr. Thomas Brown, an important voice in the ADHD community recently described it as an "erectile dysfunction of the mind." Let me play the clip for you here.

...

This episode delves into the intricate nature of the wandering mind, exploring the complexities of attention, focus, and the diverse manifestations of ADHD. It challenges the traditional objectivist approach in scientific inquiry, emphasizing the value of human experience, metaphor, and emotion in understanding mental processes. The narrative presents a metaphor comparing the lens of an eye to the lens of consciousness, illustrating how mental wanderings impact focus and productivity. Additionally, it discusses the role of short-term and working memory and the emotional bed of consciousness. The episode concludes with practical insights for managing a wandering mind and a musical improvisation piece that embodies the themes discussed.

00:00 Open

03:33 An Appeal to Human Experience

07:52 A Metaphor of the Eye's Lens

11:36 The Lens of Consciousness

15:16 A Return of The Now and Not Now

16:02 The Vitality of Emotion

18:18 Bringing it Together

25:57 An Improvisation

The Magnified Mind: Metaphors for Wandering, Focus, and Emotional Depth

Welcome, fellow wandering minds! In this episode, we set sail through the complexities of attention, memory, and emotion—exploring how the wandering mind, so often misunderstood, can be a source of both challenge and creative strength. Below you’ll find references, resources, and further reading to deepen your journey.

ADHD, Neurodiversity, and Focus Variability

• ADHD Types & Neurodiversity:
• CHADD: Understanding ADHD Types
• ADDitude Magazine: ADHD Presentations

Science, Measurement, and Human Experience

• Objectivism in Psychology:
• E.L. Thorndike and Measurement in Psychology
• Quote from Dr. Frank Summers, The Psychoanalytic Vision:
• Book Information

Neuroscience of Attention

• Task Positive Network vs. Default Mode Network:
• ScienceDirect: Brain Networks
• Neurotransmitters & Attention:
• Verywell Mind: Dopamine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin
• Short-Term & Working Memory:
• George Miller’s “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”

Emotion, Consciousness, and Motivation

• Neuropsychoanalysis & Mark Solms:
• Mark Solms, The Conscious Id
• International Neuropsychoanalysis Society

Practical Tools for Agency...

This episode explores the frustrations of procrastination and task management, particularly when relying on others for reminders. It delves into the emotional cycle of resentment that builds between individuals and suggests a 'visit-based' approach to break free from the endless creation of incomplete tasks. Instead of arguing with emotions, the episode advocates for simply being present with tasks to foster productivity and reduce resentment, ultimately aiming for more aligned and harmonious task completion. The episode concludes with a piece of music titled 'Wooded Hills' in D Minor.

00:00 Avoiding a Taskmaster

01:45 The Sisyphean Struggle: Why Organizing Feels Impossible with ADHD

02:46 The Trap of Outsourcing Agency: “Can You Remind Me…?” and the Taskmaster Effect

04:34 Beyond “Feeling Like It”

05:22 Wooded Hills

Picture this: feeling scattered, surrounded by a sea of sticky notes. You ask a friend to remind you to do that one important thing, but when they actually do, you find yourself saying, "well, not now. I'm busy." Suddenly you're both caught in this cycle of frustration and resentment each waiting for the other to make the next move.

So what's going on here?

"Hey, can you remind me to do that thing?"

Trying to do the dishes, getting the report done, making that important call, it can all feel like some Sisyphean task, seeing the world around us full of incomplete projects. Scribbles on the calendar, post-it notes, all trying to yell past each other as they turn to some vague yellow sea.

It's a rare thing for those stars to align. But when they do, you're in it. Well, that is until you're either done or exhausted. And either way, chaos returns as inevitable as it is in our world.

So you might reason, you know what?

If something's important enough, it'll find me.

But when those things arrive, we still not only have some sense of inability, we have that injured sense of agency described in episode nine.

When the important thing shows up, unless it's shiny or on fire, some part of us might just refuse lay down and say No, I don't wanna, I can't be bothered. Many other possibilities.

Then we can have this idea. What if I ask someone to help me, a friend, a loved one.

Hey, can you remind me about whatever it is?

But then when it comes time for that, someone else to say, Hey, what if you do that thing Now? We might just say,

"well, not now. I'm busy, or I'll get to it."

Something in us just isn't quite feeling it. What happens here though is that we've just thrown the ball back at the other person who now continues to hold the task. Both you and they have now colluded to create a task master.

Worse yet this new task master is now in a position of having to read our mind better than we even know it ourselves.

They have to target this often impossible place where we'd feel like it, where our own conscious and unconscious worlds and stars would align in ways that we ourselves don't even know. These positions create resentment. Both in ourselves as we begin to feel them as harassing us and in them who feel that they have to harass us.

Whether boss, spouse, parent, child, friend, or otherwise, any relationship- this can happen sadly, often in our most vital relationships. This resentment can build. And importantly resentment's a particularly insidious emotion. Much of it is unconscious. We may try to suppress it because after all, they often love care for feel dependent on us or us on them.

How is it that I can feel so angry?

How is it they can feel so angry with me?

I shouldn't feel this way.

Well, making these arguments, I mean, how often has that strategy of arguing with these