This is an oversimplification, but it frames the idea to address it.
I was just thinking—it’s kind of amazing that I won 82 awards for Pvt. Ravel’s Bolero even though I basically taught myself digital video editing, stumbled through it, jammed up my computer at times overwhelming it and having to rework it, and didn’t always fully understand what I was doing.
It reminded me of my IT days—working with really advanced systems nobody knew much about yet, and they’d just toss it to me and my partner at work. I'd blunder forward, but somehow, I’d get results that were applauded and often be done way faster than anyone expected.
It feels like the front of my mind—the part I can see and steer—often thinks, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” But when I just keep moving, my back-of-mind takes over. That part seems to know exactly what it’s doing, even if I don’t have direct access to it. I just wish it shared with me so I could clearly see the clarity it seems to see.
I thought some might find that interesting—or maybe familiar?
So, what's going on?
1. ADHD and “blundering through”
I'm describing something a lot of ADHD adults recognize — the feeling of not knowing what I'm doing consciously, but still producing strong results once I let momentum carry me forward. What looks like “blundering” from the outside often turns out to be how the ADHD brain problem-solves: messy at the surface, brilliant underneath.
2. Front mind vs. back mind
The way I framed the “front of mind” that doubts and the “back of mind” that just does, is a powerful way to describe it. It’s almost like I've trained myself to trust the unconscious systems I've built up from years of exposure and experimentation. That’s not just luck — it’s experience embedding itself so deeply that my brain can run with it even when the conscious part feels lost.
3. Modeling resilience for him
By framing it like this, it shows that “not fully knowing” doesn’t mean “not capable.” That’s an important message, especially for someone else with ADHD. I've normalized the process — that results come not from perfect control, but from trust, persistence, and letting the deeper mind do its work.
Framing ADHD not as a deficit, but as a different way of processing — one that can look chaotic but is often surprisingly effective. That’s both validating and encouraging.
here’s a more technical framing of what you described, written as if it were for a blog piece on ADHD, creativity, and “back-of-mind” processing:
The ADHD Brain and the Power of Back-of-Mind Processing
One of the paradoxes many adults with ADHD experience is the sense of not knowing what we’re doing while, at the same time, producing remarkable results. This isn’t a contradiction — it’s a feature of how the ADHD brain engages with complex tasks.
Conscious vs. Unconscious Processing
Cognitively, we can think of two layers of mental activity:
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Front-of-mind (conscious, executive function): This is where planning, sequencing, and self-monitoring happen. For ADHD brains, this area can feel foggy or unreliable. We often perceive ourselves as “blundering” because the conscious control panel doesn’t feel firmly in our grasp.
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Back-of-mind (unconscious, distributed cognition): This is the deeper system that draws on years of experience, pattern recognition, and implicit memory. When ADHD adults “just do it” without overthinking, this system often takes over, handling complexity in ways our conscious brain can’t articulate.
Why “Blundering Forward” Works
Neuroscience suggests that ADHD brains rely more heavily on implicit learning — acquiring skills and strategies without direct instruction or step-by-step conscious control. What feels like stumbling is often the process of activating those hidden competencies. By moving forward, even clumsily, we give the unconscious brain permission to solve problems in the background.
In practice:
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Video editing or IT troubleshooting feels chaotic at the surface.
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Errors, crashes, and “jammed up” systems are part of the exploration.
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But the end result is often praised as innovative or sophisticated precisely because it bypassed linear, rule-bound approaches.
The ADHD Edge
What looks like uncertainty can actually be a strength. Research into default mode network (DMN) activity shows that ADHD brains maintain higher baseline connectivity between divergent areas of the brain. That can feel distracting in daily life, but in creative or technical problem-solving, it means a broader range of solutions “bubble up” unconsciously.
So when we say, “I don’t know what I’m doing — until suddenly I do”, we’re describing a very real neurological process: conscious struggle giving way to unconscious synthesis.
Trusting the Process
The key takeaway is that “blundering forward” isn’t incompetence. It’s a different mode of competence — one that depends less on stepwise conscious control and more on trusting the brain’s background systems to assemble the pieces. For people with ADHD, that often means results come in bursts of unexpected clarity, rather than predictable progress.
We're all different. But there is something going on in our brains, in our minds, that is rational in some way or other. It can just look chaotic to ourselves, or worse (sometimes, not always) to others.
I have always liked the idea, perhaps a bit romantic and maybe even false, that everyone is a genius at something. The truth is, many people never discover what that is even if it is true (for them), and it may not always exist in the way we imagine.
Still, if you have not yet found yours, keep searching. You may yet stumble upon it. And even if you never do, the search itself matters. The journey is, at least in part, the destination, and it can enrich the quality of your life along the way.
Cheers! Sláinte! Na zdravie!
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