I sometimes wonder if overcommitment is cast in a far too negative light.

I’ve heard all the psychological explanations about folks who want to “people please” by agreeing to virtually every request. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of just such behavior in my life, which often led to resentment, failure to meet my obligations etc., etc., etc.

But saying “Yes” to life is something entirely different. And I find it difficult to turn down opportunities to grab a big bite of life and enjoy it. I suppose my overcommitment is a way of ‘people pleasing’ — because it’s pleasing ME.

Overcommitment would be no problem if I was an excellent time manager, if I had impeccable organization skills, if I allowed my ‘bites’ to come in an orderly succession. That’s never been my strong suit. And to be candid, it’s not that attractive to me – dare I say – boring?

I tend to let the interesting, exciting projects and events in my life cluster on top of each other so that I feel overwhelmed and act a bit frenzied.

What I realize these days is that I kinda like living on the edge. For a long while, I believed that I didn’t fit the profile of an ADD adult in terms of being a ‘risk taker” to get the old adrenaline pumping. So I don’t go to the track to race stock cars. I don’t jump out of airplanes with a flimsy parachute strapped to my back (yet). I don’t play the slots with my hard earned dollars.

Instead, I overcommit. The adrenaline rush is similar, if not life threatening (ah, but why did I buy a hot air balloon, my friends? Hmmm. I think that was more about impulse buying..another interesting topic — oops am I losing my train of thought here???).

So it’s an ADDiva thing after all. So what? I doubt that I will ever give up my fascination with taking big bites of life. So I am committed to overcommitment…and I plan to include it in my Big Plan to be Fully Me — great plan, eh?