Re: What if it's how other people treat us that's the biggest problem?

[Misswho23]

Tiddler – This line spoke to me so acutely of what I go thought in the world of workplaces.

“What if they’re only ‘bigger and worse’ because of how we’re treated by others and by the environments we find ourselves in that don’t allow us to do whatever we find ourselves capable of?”

If I can ask what field of work you went into? If I recall I think you went into a different line of work after the ADD diagnosis? Haven’t been posting lately and I’m getting caught up and refreshing my brain.

Lately what is getting me down is keeping track of time at work and how ling it takes me to do stuff. I’m a graphic designer and I started doing my own jewelry business. Both require that parts of me that are creative able to think fast and come up with innovative ideas. So in that it’s a good fit. It’s that executive function side. Before finding this site I didn’t really know about the “weaker” executive function part of ADD.

But like you said so what if we are not that interested in dates where the file went etc. What are we good at and allow us to do that.

I had a job where the print buyer was good at that end and I appreciated this about her. But when I could not keep track the same I was written up or talked to or told all the same crap about not paying attention, wasting company time yadda yadda.

But here’s the thing I was hired as a designer to design. I’ve never been put down for my creativity. I’ve also been complimented a thousand times for my ideas and for long projects requiring the hyper-focus part of me that other designers could not deal with. And dealing with the most difficult and hard to please clients because I have a side that doesn’t take those clients so personal. That’s when my lack of some social cues come in. I don’t get caught up in it I only hear what it is they want to have happen on the job and how can I problem solve that.

But it’s when the time gets added up because you have to know what to bill people that I get into trouble. Either because I loose track of how long it took. Underestimate it or loose what I did. What I don’t get is what’s so hard about having the people who really like to do that stuff help the people who are more the innovators so our minds don’t get so tied up with stuff that in the end doesn’t make us do our jobs any better and takes up brain space and time to do what we are hired for in the first place?

I don’t feel that this is a poor me, it’s not me it’s everyone else rant either. But in a way I do feel it’s everyone else. We have educational systems and management systems that work for a percentage of people. And it’s expected that everyone should fir into the system. And if you don’t then there’s a problem. But I think it doesn’t have to be.

So here’s one I often wonder about. What it were reversed? What is the rest of the education system and workplaces had to live by our rules and do things how we excel? Then that same group of people who are predominant in succeeding would then be failing. Think about it. If others got criticized and help back, not promoted for not being able to think up new ideas, new inventions, think outside the box, care more about the project them how much time it took. Well then they would be right where we have been all our lives.

And they would be struggling trying to be more creative, think more dynamically and wondering why all they can do is file, keep track of time and know what they did in the last hour. And here’s the real positive thing I think, most ADD people wouldn’t get so caught up in all the negative but most likely would come up with some way or invention to help the person out. Not spend a lot of time trying to get them to be just like us. But finding how what would work and how.

Well hope that made sense. I have a headache and need to eat something.

Thanks so much for your post Tiddler

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