“The truth is like poetry, and people fucking hate poetry.”— overheard at a Washington, D.C. bar, quoted in The Big Short

Adam McKay used this line to open The Big Short, and I’m borrowing it — because it’s perfect here.

In the movie, it’s about people ignoring what’s right in front of them: corruption, economic collapse, systems failing in plain sight.But it’s not just the world’s truths we dodge.

We dodge our own.

Especially the ones that hurt.

This lesson is about one of those truths — the version of yourself you’d rather not see.

It's born from our shame and just like poetry we hate it.It's a part of ourselves we would like to rewrite, bury, or pretend doesn’t exist.

Carl Jung called it “the shadow”: the hidden part of us we keep out of sight, even from ourselves.And if you don’t acknowledge it? It will run your life from the background.

The Stuff You Swear You Don’t Think About

We’ve talked about honesty with yourself before, but this is deeper.

This isn’t just noticing your thoughts in the moment — it’s digging into the parts of you shame built. The things you “know” about yourself but never want to face:

The jealousy of someone prettier or more successful
The anger you barely contain
The part of you that knows you should have more empathy but doesn’t

The shadow is where those things live.

Its real destructive power is this: It convinces you you’re unworthy of the good in life.

Deep down, we feel like our ugliness doesn’t deserve love, success, contentment, or peace.

It’s where the voice comes from that says:

“You’re lazy.”
“You’re selfish.”
“You’ll never get it together.”
“You don’t deserve it, so don’t even try.”

And with ADHD, that voice can be deafening.

Every missed deadline, every dropped project, every “you’re not living up to your potential” moment just feeds it.

Why Your Growth Keeps Stalling

We like to think ignoring the dark parts is strength. But for ADHD brains that ruminate and replay mistakes, ignoring is just survival.

So we build coping mechanisms — inflated confidence, numbness, people-pleasing — anything to keep others from seeing the mess underneath.

But here’s the hard truth:If you don’t turn toward your shadow, you’ll keep hitting the same wall every time you try to grow.

Unworthiness is what’s really keeping you from becoming who you want to be.

And unfortunately, your shadow is what’s creating that feeling.

The answer isn’t to fight it.It isn’t even just to “face” it.The answer is to embrace it — because what you think is attacking you is actually asking for care.

When the Monster Spoke Back

I once saw a video that explained the shadow with a perfect metaphor: a monster living in your basement.

He’s big and hairy, all teeth and claws — so terrifying you just want him gone, or better yet, dead.

At first, you tell yourself maybe he’ll stay down there if you ignore him. But that never works.

The more you pretend he isn’t there, the more determined he becomes to remind you he exists.

So he shows up whenever he can — after every failure, every missed opportunity, every time you let someone down, especially yourself.

And when he comes, he whispers in a voice that sounds exactly like yours:

“You’re doing it again.”
“Everyone sees you for what you are.”
“You don’t deserve anything better.”

It’s exhausting. The fear gets so relentless you start fighting back any way you can — productivity hacks, rigid routines, affirmations, self-help books, seminars, whatever promises to make the monster disappear.

But the more you fight, the stronger he gets. Louder. Scarier. Until finally, you feel beaten and ready to give up.

In the video, the person eventually reached that breaking point. Out of sheer frustration, they stopped fighting and finally asked the monster, “What do you want from me?”

And the monster answered, “I just want you to talk to me.”

That moment hit me like a gut punch.

Because that’s the truth about our shadow — it’s not out to destroy us. It’s begging to be seen, understood, and recognized.

The monster wasn’t trying to ruin me. It was trying to get my attention.

It wasn’t my enemy. It was me — a younger me, confused and shamed, left behind in moments that mattered.

Making Room for the Pieces You Hate

Jung described the shadow as the traits, impulses, and memories we reject because we were told they were “wrong” or "unlovable".

Identifying and "unpacking" these things we see as "wrong" is a practice he called "shadow work".

Shadow work isn’t about erasing or overcoming these issues.

It’s about bringing them into the light, understanding them, and making space for them in your story.

Not to excuse harmful behavior, but to see what’s underneath it — and to meet it with the one thing it’s been asking for all along: care.

The Hardest But Kindest Shift You’ll Make

Instead of picturing your shadow as a monster, try seeing it as a child — a younger version of you, standing there with all the flaws and pain you’ve been afraid to face.

She's been waiting a long time.

Standing on the side of the road, covered in the dust of years of shame and rejection. Watching life pass by, hoping someone would finally stop.

Her little arms are outstretched, reaching for comfort and safety.

And without realizing it, you’ve turned away — not out of cruelty, but because you never learned to see yourself as someone worth comforting.

I’m not saying that to shame you.

I just want you to notice how naturally we reject the parts of ourselves that feel unworthy.

But think about it: if you somehow had custody of your 5-year-old, 10-year-old, or even 15-year-old self, wouldn’t you protect them with everything you have?

Wouldn’t you comfort them and make sure they felt loved?

Of course you would. Probably even more fiercely, because you know exactly what they’ve been through — the fear, the confusion, the shame they’ve carried alone.

That child doesn’t need discipline or fixing. They need you.They need you to finally pull over, open the door, and say:“I see you. I’m sorry I left you behind for so long.”

That’s what embracing the shadow really means.It’s messy and emotional — but it’s also the first real moment of peace you’ll feel with yourself in a long time.

From Proving to Belonging

When you stop seeing the shadow as something to battle, things will begin to shift fast:

You stop wasting energy propping up a version of yourself that was never real.
The shame loop finally breaks — it stops dragging you back to the same old stories.
You reclaim a sense of worth that isn’t tied to proving or fixing.
You feel safe in your own head again — instead of living like your own worst critic.

Worthiness isn’t something you win by "fixing yourself."

It’s something you remember.

You were born with it; you just lost sight of it because you thought you didn’t deserve it.

So when that inner voice rises again, don’t shove it away.Picture the child. See how tired they are. Then say:“You’re safe now. I love you. I’m here.”

Because once you do, you’ll realize the shadow monster was never real.

The shame was never yours to carry.

And the version of you reading this now? That’s the one finally pulling over and driving home with all of you in the car.

That’s what this process is really about — becoming whole. Not perfect. Not “fixed.” Whole.

It’s taking every lost, shamed, hidden part of yourself and saying, you’re part of me, too.

When you stop rejecting parts of yourself and start welcoming them back, you don’t get weaker — you just stop fighting yourself.

From that place — from wholeness — you can actually grow.

You can become a better version of yourself, not because you’re trying to prove something, but because you finally feel safe enough to build a life that’s true.

Why Success Alone Won’t Save You

You might wonder: “Okay, but what does this have to do with my life, my goals, moving forward?”

Here’s the truth: success, money, even personal growth won’t make your shadow disappear. If anything, achievement can make it louder.

That’s why we face it now — not at some imaginary finish line.

Because as long as the shadow runs things in the background, you’re tethered — like a balloon tied to a chair. You can pull and stretch and float higher, but you’ll never be free.

When you meet your shadow with care, you cut the cord.

Peace and presence stop being things you chase to quiet the monster — they just show up because you’re no longer at war with yourself.

Essentially, this is "self-forgiveness."It’s accepting that imperfection isn’t disqualifying — it’s human.

A Simple Practice You Can Start Today

This lesson isn’t going to make you a master at shadow work or suddenly be enable you to paint a complete picture of the "real you."

I would never assume it could. But it's an introduction.

Right now, you just need a foothold — a way to remember what you’ve learned so you can start the process.

Start simple:

Notice the voice. When the shadow pipes up with criticism, pause.
Picture the child. This helps you remember its not about battling — its about being kind to yourself.
Offer care. You can just say it in your head: “I see you. You’re safe now. I love you.”

That’s it.No marathon journaling, no endless analysis. Just recognition and kindness — in real time or after the fact.

The more you do this, the quieter the shadow gets.

And the quieter it gets, the more space there is for presence — the kind where you can finally enjoy where you are, even as you keep growing.

Lesson 2 – Embracing Your “Shadow”