How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have any talent

Re:How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have ... by sph on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @08:39AM (#39189952)

I see where you're coming from, but comments like this are why it's taken me 30 years to understand there was something not exactly right with me. It doesn't help anyone because ADHD is something no one has completely understood, especially those that do not have it, and keep muddying the waters at any chance they get.

In my experience, if it has any value, ADHD is also lack of motivation to start new cool projects [1], despite you telling me that I'm wrong. Sorry for being curt, but I somehow have to add disclaimers and clarify every time I talk about it. It's a bit tiring.

Re: 9-5: that's also nonsense. Medication helps if you work in a cubicle, as well as to work on flexible hours and no bosses like I've had the luck to do lately. It does not necessarily make you into an effective drone.

1: The story is much more complicated, as it often is. I used to love starting new projects. 30 years of starting and never finishing does have its toll on the psyche, and I just internalised I am a lazy bastard that will never amount to anything, so I just stopped altogether. What does the CDC say about it?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have ... by Aeolun on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @09:14AM (#39190317)

I just accepted never finishing anything I guess? I still enjoy the starting, and the never finishing part mostly comes from not wanting to do tedious work.

I do find that as I get older the point where the work grows tedious increases. I’ve spent years on a project, and while not finished it’s certainly usable.

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Re:How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have ... by sph on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @10:53AM (#39191552)

I didn't exactly mean getting bored after a year. I mean losing the motivation after one day.

I have never stuck to a single side project for more than a week until my diagnosis, however small.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have ... by Nullabillity on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @09:32AM (#39190502)

Of course telling yourself that you're a "lazy bastard" is going to take its toll.

But that association is an artifact of culture, and something we can change. Should change.

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Re:How to do things if you're not that smart and don't have ... by dard12 on Tuesday January 30, 2024 @01:37PM (#39193863)

Wanted to note that the pattern of starting and never finishing projects maybe fits the CDC symptoms around difficulty directing one's attention. Potentially then a lack of motivation to start new projects could be a common experience of people with undiagnosed ADHD later in life, but it is perhaps less common for those without the accumulated guilt of past experiences (speaking hypothetically and without expertise).

I empathize with how the complexity of these experiences and their knock-on effects make understanding what is happening with ourselves difficult.

[ Parent | on HN ]