There are 3 main reasons I chose this name:
I like metaphors
I'm a fan of table top roleplaying games (TTRPGs)
It's fun to say
The MonkeyFish Metaphor
Monkeys are pretty awesome, they're able to run and climb to traverse some of the worlds most difficult and cluttered terrain. Fish are a wide array of swimmers, divers, and survivors. Some can even exists in lightless environments where others fear to tread.
Monkeys and fish do have one thing in common: they're masters of their environments.
At times, those of us with ADHD feel the exact opposite. Even though our environment was shaped by humanity, we can struggle traversing it, so we need to borrow from the monkey and the fish and learn how best to navigate the deep dives and high climbs of everyday life, so when one method doesn't work we're flexible enough to try different. Here's a short video/song by the folks over at the How to ADHD YouTube channel, written and performed by Jessica McCabe, that might better put the metaphor into perspective.
Yeah, that song gets me every time I listen to it, because I like most of us with ADHD know what it feels like to be the fish among monkeys or the monkey among fish.
The Giant Gaming Nerd Inside
I've always been a big table top roleplaying game (RPG) fan, though I'm almost always the person running the game as I struggle with waiting my turn as a player (more on that later), but let's course correct — what does MonkeyFish ADHD Coaching and dice slinging have in common?
Pathfinder First Edition, a table-top RPG by Paizo, has a magic spell called Monkey Fish! The description of the spell reads as such:
"Your hands and feet alter to make you better at climbing and swimming. You gain a 10 foot climb speed and swim speed. This spell has no effect if you are wearing medium or heavy armor or carrying a medium or heavy load."
It's a utility spell and one that I really enjoyed using when I played a wizard. Utility spells are my jam. If we put the spell into an ADHD context, it inspired me to be aware of my environment. I can use it and other utility spells from games I play to playfully think about wizarding solutions to mundane problems and sometimes this simple reframing with a dash of humor is all I need to avoid a social or environmental struggle.
MonkeyFish is Fun to Say
Try it. I think it's fun to say and I'll probably be saying it more than anyone else, so it needed to be fun.
There are other reasons I could get into, research and business building stuff, but these are the key ones that satisfied my inner creative, playful side, serious side, and the ADHD beast. It's not often when all these parts of me work together in agreement, so MonkeyFish ADHD Coaching is the winner and I'm excited to continue to grow and build.
This is the first of what I hope are many blog posts that explore tools, resources, and aspects of ADHD life.
If you're ready to jump into coaching, take a moment to book a discovery call and check out our services.