It’s been three days since Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States. No matter whether you are ecstatic or bummed about the outcome, the election offers profound implications that should give all ADDivas a dose of that magic elixir: HOPE.

Why? Because we, like Obama, face a world that uses rigid standards to separate “good” from “bad” and “right” from “wrong.” We, like Obama, have been judged harshly by those rigid rules. We, like Obama, have been the target of ridicule, the scapegoat for problems, the odd duckling among stereotypical swans.

But Barack Obama shows us that whether our difference is in the color of our skin, the way our brain works or how many times we are late filing our taxes, we can transcend those challenges and rise – quite literally – to the top.

I don’t know about you, but there have been times in my life that I was so tired of trying harder, going the extra mile, thinking ahead of the business people around the conference table, that I wanted it all to STOP. I was sick of playing by everyone else’s rules. I was exhausted from untwisting my pretzel-like self into a semi-straight line that passed for “normal.” I wanted to go to bed, pull up the covers and hide until that neatly pressed world marched right on past me.

I don’t know Barack Obama personally. I suspect there were times in his life that he was discouraged, disheartened by the uphill road ahead. But I notice he didn’t go to bed and pull up the covers. He kept moving. He renewed his efforts. And most importantly, he never stopped believing in his dream. Never.

ADDivas would do well to take nourishment from that determination. Many of our dreams have been discarded; they litter the roads of our distant past. We turn away from them as proof of our failures and an accurate predictor of our futures.

But women with ADHD are not failures. We deserve to revisit our dreams – resurrecting those that still inspire us and creating new ones that have nudged themselves into our adult lives. And as we make that slow turn toward ourselves, welcoming that woman who is truly a miracle, truly unique and precious in the world, we ignite that four-letter word in ourselves and in those who witness our transformation.

HOPE. It’s not about elections. It’s about life. Your life. And you.