Have you ever felt like everyone understands the rules except for you? Me, too. And I’ve spent over a decade in therapy trying to figure it out.
The main reason I sought help from therapists, counselors, and coaches is because I have always felt different. Like everyone else got the ‘Manual to Human Life’ except for me. As a result, I have always felt like an outsider. I think feeling different also motivates rebellion. Growing up in the 80s, we called this non-conformity. If you’re younger than me, this means your interests fall outside the ‘normal crowd’.
As I discover more about my neurodivergence and Autism, I realize that neurodivergence is the antithesis of conformity. This fits well with the ideas I outline in my podcast episodes 99 and 100. In short, the world is supposed to be diverse.
Make room for people different from you. Don’t be an asshole.
This episode and the future direction of my podcast (which I have rebranded from Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom to The Neurodivergent Professor) is to be the person I needed when I was 15. I’m here for 1 me and the other people who need to hear what I have to say. I’m thankful to discover where I fit.
My mission is to be additive to the body of the work that helps normalize diversity. I think this is self-actualization, as described here. I’m old enough to have figured some stuff out (see all 157+ episodes of my podcast and Medium articles for more) and need to share it in case folks are looking for it — like I have been.
My growth now depends on giving back.
Growth perpetuates life but requires resources. All living things get a fair share of communal resources to grow, reproduce, and die. Other forms of growth that consume too many of the limited communal resources are bad. Bad growth is limitless; the only biological example I can think of is cancer. Limitless growth is also one of the central tenets of capitalism, which has never made sense to me. Limitless growth disagrees with Darwin as I discuss in episode 156. It isn’t considered fitness in an evolutionary sense.
I think part of our duty is to grow, to address our issues, so we can give more back. Commensurate with our privilege, or course. Of course, it’s your right NOT to, but . . . . then you’re an asshole.
I want humans to FLOURISH, and to assist others in flourishing. I seek to make humans better as obnoxious as that sounds. Personal growth. Self-improvement. I believe in these things.
Suffering exists and is going to exist. It is part of being human. But we can learn to minimize suffering and maximize flourishing. We can learn to thrive rather than merely survive.
I want to honor our ancestors who got us here. Here is where we are. My ‘here’ is giving back to the future for me. Suffer less. Flourish more. We all have different paths. Different traumas. But we all have trauma. Healing is part of flourishing. Not healing maximizes suffering. I think that the purpose of growth is to minimize suffering, maximize flourishing, and help everyone else do those things. HOW to do this effectively is the direction of my podcast and writing. Whether you identify as neurodivergent or not, please subscribe to The Neurodivergent Professor on YouTube, podcast, my website, or Medium.
If you are enjoying this content, please tell your friends.
Have you ever felt like everyone understands the rules except for you? Me, too. And I’ve spent over a decade in therapy trying to figure it out.
The main reason I sought help from therapists, counselors, and coaches is because I have always felt different. Like everyone else got the ‘Manual to Human Life’ except for me. As a result, I have always felt like an outsider. I think feeling different also motivates rebellion. Growing up in the 80s, we called this non-conformity. If you’re younger than me, this means your interests fall outside the ‘normal crowd’.
As I discover more about my neurodivergence and Autism, I realize that neurodivergence is the antithesis of conformity. This fits well with the ideas I outline in my podcast episodes 99 and 100. In short, the world is supposed to be diverse.
Make room for people different from you. Don’t be an asshole.
This episode and the future direction of my podcast (which I have rebranded from Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom to The Neurodivergent Professor) is to be the person I needed when I was 15. I’m here for 1 me and the other people who need to hear what I have to say. I’m thankful to discover where I fit.
My mission is to be additive to the body of the work that helps normalize diversity. I think this is self-actualization, as described here. I’m old enough to have figured some stuff out (see all 157+ episodes of my podcast and Medium articles for more) and need to share it in case folks are looking for it — like I have been.
My growth now depends on giving back.
Growth perpetuates life but requires resources. All living things get a fair share of communal resources to grow, reproduce, and die. Other forms of growth that consume too many of the limited communal resources are bad. Bad growth is limitless; the only biological example I can think of is cancer. Limitless growth is also one of the central tenets of capitalism, which has never made sense to me. Limitless growth disagrees with Darwin as I discuss in episode 156. It isn’t considered fitness in an evolutionary sense.
I think part of our duty is to grow, to address our issues, so we can give more back. Commensurate with our privilege, or course. Of course, it’s your right NOT to, but . . . . then you’re an asshole.
I want humans to FLOURISH, and to assist others in flourishing. I seek to make humans better as obnoxious as that sounds. Personal growth. Self-improvement. I believe in these things.
Suffering exists and is going to exist. It is part of being human. But we can learn to minimize suffering and maximize flourishing. We can learn to thrive rather than merely survive.
I want to honor our ancestors who got us here. Here is where we are. My ‘here’ is giving back to the future for me. Suffer less. Flourish more. We all have different paths. Different traumas. But we all have trauma. Healing is part of flourishing. Not healing maximizes suffering. I think that the purpose of growth is to minimize suffering, maximize flourishing, and help everyone else do those things. HOW to do this effectively is the direction of my podcast and writing. Whether you identify as neurodivergent or not, please subscribe to The Neurodivergent Professor on YouTube, podcast, my website, or Medium.
If you are enjoying this content, please tell your friends.