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Neurodivergent: think different.

(10 minute read.)

'Neuro... what? No I'd never heard of it either.'

So that's the outline on Asperger's/ADHD/OCD/OCPD, some elements of which are common to, or conflict with, each other.

Anyway, back to where I began this note…

Neurodivergent is the term for people whose brains function differently than is considered standard or typical, and includes Asperger's/ADHD/OCD/OCPD and other conditions.

It manifests in different ways and to varying degrees, so that 'behaving differently than is standard in our society' is in some people barely noticeable, yet in others obvious.

It can be beneficial. And problematical.

The associated personal characteristics can be good in entrepreneurs/executives—though can still suggest their mental stability should be questioned.

I've read that 'hard work and intelligence can take you only so far', and to be super successful one needs something extra… the singular focus and maniacal overdrive, which often comes from being a tad mad.

So maybe a touch of madness genuinely is perhaps the secret to rising to the top.

Although it's increasingly acknowledged that many famously successful people have been unbalanced, few realize that many 'movers and shakers' also struggled with psychiatric maladies.

Just one of many examples, Apple's Jobs' obsessive compulsion was a source of strength and focus. Difficult and argumentative, he had trouble relating to others. A perfectionist, he couldn't stand dirt, and hated typos.

Over the years I've read soooooo many similar tales of entrepreneurial behaviour which suggest a link between entrepreneurial ability and what is often termed 'mental illness'.

Society generalises with the idea that someone who is outwardly successful is always healthy, and doesn't consider that doctors, lawyers, teachers, business owners, etcetera have what is perhaps unfairly a mental disorder and more constructively recognised as neurodivergent—they have a brain that processes and behaves differently to what is considered typical.

I'm not sure how comfortable I can get with the term 'neurodivergent' though… it sounds a tad too politically correct for me.

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