E96 - Second Take: Andy J. Pizza, "Cultivate Yourself, Don't Overcome Yourself"

I asked Andy how long it took him to start liking himself the way he is. He did not give me a number. He said it is something he has to constantly return to and refresh.

This is Second Take, a short format on the show. One idea, one guest, lifted out of a longer conversation. You do not need to have heard the original.

Around 25, Andy started to realise he probably has ADHD. His first reaction was not relief, it was grief, because this was not something he could hustle his way out of. Not long after, he found what he now calls the neurodivergent lens. Brains are different, not necessarily worse or better, and they perform differently in different contexts. Which brought him to a thought that changed things: maybe he is not broken, but in this society, this is a disability.

From there he started trying to cultivate himself rather than overcome himself, and he explains why that shift matters particularly for artists. He also takes the Joseph Campbell line about the cave you fear to enter and argues it is usually read wrong.

He does not present any of this as finished. He calls loving himself a continual battle.

Full conversation with Andy: https://creativefigures.fm/s02-e30-andy-j-pizza-adhd-self-worth/

Find Andy here: https://www.andyjpizza.com/

https://www.creativepeptalk.com/

https://www.instagram.com/andyjpizza/

https://www.andyjpizza.com/rso

Find me here: https://creativefigures.fm

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