Perseverance, persistence, tenacity, determination, isin't that how we are supposed to be?

[Mia]

Today I was outside digging up dandelion roots, have this small shovel that I use for the task. Four hours later I realized that I had been working solidly non-stop without even a rest. Ignored the fact that I should stop, I was dehydrated, had to go to the bathroom, hungry, my hands hurt, yet I simply went on, ignoring my physical needs. Wanted to dig up every dandelion root on my property because most are going to turn white very shortly and reseed my gardens.

I couldn't leave one dandelion alive. I went over it again to check that they are all gone, almost microscopically checking to make sure that I got them all. Began to realize that I approach most things in life this way, art, study, the way I dress, jobs, renovations, cooking, gaming, I'm extremely thorough and tenacious.

It seems to me that this is a good quality to have in life, yet people insist on calling it obsessive, even excessive in some respects.

Aspies who do things in this way are considered over-involved and they call our interests obsessions.

Isn't being thorough and consistent a good way to approach life in general?

 

[wanderer03]

Today I was outside digging up dandelion roots, have this small shovel that I use for the task. Four hours later I realized that I had been working solidly non-stop without even a rest. Ignored the fact that I should stop, I was dehydrated, had to go to the bathroom, hungry, my hands hurt, yet I simply went on, ignoring my physical needs. Wanted to dig up every dandelion root on my property because most are going to turn white very shortly and reseed my gardens.

I couldn't leave one dandelion alive. I went over it again to check that they are all gone, almost microscopically checking to make sure that I got them all. Began to realize that I approach most things in life this way, art, study, the way I dress, jobs, renovations, cooking, gaming, I'm extremely thorough and tenacious.

It seems to me that this is a good quality to have in life, yet people insist on calling it obsessive, even excessive in some respects.

Aspies who do things in this way are considered over-involved and they call our interests obsessions.

Isn't being thorough and consistent a good way to approach life in general?

I think Aspies have a very black and white approach to life. We do tend to have interests and obsessions but we don't always lead a life of moderation and can overdo things. I have this problem and I have to remind myself of the importance of living a balanced life.

 

[garnetflower13]

IMO, you are what you are. No one is going to instantly understand how we are wired, and how we get things done.

 

[Mia]

That's not the point I'm attempting to make. Many of the qualities that Aspies seem to have like intense focus, seem to be perceived as obsessive. Yet, our determination and our ability to do things or figure things out is essentially a quality that many people don't have.

 

[JCat]

I'm with you Mia! (That's one of the main reasons when I was originally diagnosed bipolar--likely incorrect in hindsight--I avoided all the medications ... I didn't want to lose all the good things that make up me just to mitigate all the difficult things ...)

 

[clg114]

That's not the point I'm attempting to make. Many of the qualities that Aspies seem to have like focus, seem to be perceived as obsessive. Yet, our determination and our ability to do things or figure things out is essentially a quality that many people don't have.

I think that it is "most peoples" way of dealing something that they do not understand. Put a label on it and file it away.

 

[Mia]

Recall how upset people were were when I took apart a light timer. They had all attempted to figure out how it worked so that a relative would not have to go outside at night in the winter, to manually turn off a lantern light on a post.

It was a simple device, which programmed the hour to turn on or turn off the light, all four of them gave up. When I got it to work, they seemed angry, criticizing the time it went on and off as two minutes off the hour. My focus was there, and far from being obsessive, it fixed a problem when others gave up.