Fitting in is not always easy for different thinkers. It can be a big weight off your shoulders to accept that awkwardness is just part of life.
Transcription:
So, as a neurodiverse person, ADHD, dyslexia, autism, something along that nature, you may have in your lifetime experienced, you might be a little awkward in social situations, and by awkward I mean oh you aren’t sure what to say, you catch the joke I don’t know a day later, maybe longer than that. That’s ok. Not all things are fixable. Not all things need to be fixed. That is true in both directions. So, what I want to encourage you is, be okay with the fact, and start to get comfortable with the fact that you might be socially awkward at times. If you’re one of those neurodiverse people, you just are. One of my neurodiverse awkwardnesses is I never exactly know how to dress for a social occasion, like what the right, in that environment, what the right dress code is. So half the time I am either way overdressed, like seriously way overdressed, or extremely underdressed, and I wish that I would just drag around luggage so that I could change my outfit once I get there. But again, and I’ve just accepted that I’m going to show up to things and it’s just going to sometimes be awkward and my outfit isn’t quite going to blend into the environment and what the rest of the group is wearing. That is okay. That is okay. I don’t make it mean anything, I don’t allow it to cause me anxiety, and I do not allow it to prevent me from living my best life, and that’s the really key thing here about embracing your neurology and about being cool with the fact that sometimes your coolness is not everybody else’s coolness and that can be okay.
On the job, I’ve had a few jobs, most of my clients have jobs where sometimes everybody doesn’t respect them, doesn’t always connect with them. It’s kind of reality and you have to decide, is it a big deal how many people are you not exactly connecting with? Those types of things to decide if you’re going to stay in a job or if possibly you need to relocate to something else. Those types of things. I wish it was easier. Sometimes it is worth staying and kind of fighting and helping them educate themselves and grow. One of the things about being neurodiverse is sometimes we’re the first person they’ve really ever met or connected with that’s neurodiverse and a lot of times I’ve learned, people don’t always know how to act, feel, they get confused, and so they blurt out awkward things or they just, and I’ve come to accept that’s just, that is okay. That is part of being the first that they have met in that environment, and hopefully they’ll grow. If it happens repeatedly, well then we have a different problem, but if it is kind of one of the first interactions, I let it just be awkward. It’s okay sometimes.
So, I’m JoyGenea, international neurodiversity coach and encouraging you to embrace some of the social awkward. It’s just going to be there and if you don’t want to embrace it, there are things that you can do to adjust and to help yourself get comfortable with it, so don’t shy away. Get out there and have a great life. Bye now.