Worried about the future.

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I'm really sorry but I have to disagree. I used to believe that I could do anything if I put my mind to it but experience and determination has taught me that it simply is not possible. No amount of positive thinking and no amount of hard work and dedication can enable people to do things that they simply are not capable of, particularly when simple issues such as eye-contact and smalltalk and rejection from others are an everyday problem.

Getting the ideal job has very little to do with how good you are at the job, it's more to do with how well you're able to fit in with the other people there and first and foremost being able to get through the selection process (which rules me out of most jobs relevant to my intelligence by default).

I don't see how it can be possible to enjoy work when the only job I'm capable of doing is so mind-numbing and poorly paid.

But then the flip-side, benefits, no money to do anything, wiling away the days wallowing in depression.

Honestly how many thousands of times is it necessary to tell myself I'm something that I'm not when I already know that it doesn't work?

The more times you fail the harder and harder and harder it becomes to pick yourself up and try again.

Well sure, I couldn't be a professional athlete if I wanted to be. But that's not what I'm saying here. I'm saying if you put forth a lot of hard work into learning a particular skill, you will more than likely succeed. It's all about the mental attitude. The best athletes, for example, aren't necessarily the most athletic, but certainly they are mentally strogner than their peers. One thing you can't have is a defeatist attitude. "Oh, I failed, this just proves it all along that I can't do it" That's not the way to go. I keep giving up the moonwalk, but every time I keep trying and trying, I make new progress. Just when I think I've gotten as good as i'm going to get, I make more progress. It's a metaphor for my life. I never thought I would drive, or finish high school, or have a job, or go to college. I have my own car, and drive everywhere, I graduated high school with honors, I have a job (although it sucks haha) and I'm in college. So every time I think I can't do something, I remind myself how far I've come.

The point being some of us don't have that inner something that allows these people to overcome the odds.

It's delusional. I'm not saying that being positive is a bad thing. Actually I think it's a good thing.

However, self belief alone without sufficient skills to back it up cannot and does not bring success.

Believe it or not, I used to HAVE self belief and used to genuinely BELIEVE that I could do anything.

It is THROUGH WORKING SO HARD to TRY to succeed that I HAVE LEARNT FOR 100% CERTAIN THAT I CANNOT DO ANYTHING.

I don't deny that it's true that if you take two people with the same innate skill level and one is more strong-minded, the more strong-minded person will succeed but when you don't have an innate skill level in certain areas to start with you have to face the reality that there are certain things you will never be good at.

With all the will in the world I don't see how I can LEARN maintain relationships and build an emotional bond with other people? I mean, come on, I've been trying to learn for 32 years!

And as for sports... don't even start me. When I was at school I was so bad that I not only caused injury to myself by my non-coordination but also to other people in my class and I'm not exaggerating.

You can overcome the odds to a certain degree but there comes a point where you have to accept your own limitations.

It's true that self-belif alone cannot achieve anything, but the self-belief leads to motivation which leads to learning the skills.

I'll take some business examples again, because it's what I'm passionate about. No one is born knowing how to do shares, marketing, investment, and other such things, however many LEARN to do it because they are motivated enough to do it, and they believe it's possible.

Again, that's all very well...

However, I have a degree in economics but was unable to get a job in finance after graduating because...

Even when I was able to pass the application form...

1) I wasn't able to pass the psychometric testing...

2) I wasn't able to pass the assessment centres...

3) I wasn't able to pass the interviews...

I could have all the motivation, drive, and business knowledge in the world but none of those companies would give me a job.

Given that I find it stressful running my own life, running my own business is literally out of the question...

For NTs, definitely it's possible... but not in AS...

I believed it was possible and I couldn't understand for the life of me WHY some companies rejected me on the basis of psychometic testing ONLY.

And even if I had been successful in getting a job I can't network and I can't manage people so I would have got sacked anyway!

I've been sacked from lesser jobs for less.

Limtations = Limitations.

Aspies CAN run companies. Bram Cohen is an example of this. There's also a lot of reason to believe that Bill Gates has Asperger's.

A lot of business people also got into business simply because they couldn't get a job for whatever reason. How do you know it won't work out for you?

As I said, I can barely cope with running my own life, let alone mind running a business.

I become almost suicidal if people interfere with my cleaning rituals so it doesn't bode well for having to cooperate with others in a business sense!

OK, so you don't have the right qualities for business, but again that dosen't mean you shouldn't try anything else. Keep searching for a job, for example, remember don't give up just because of past failures.

I do have a part-time job, I am studying a part-time degree in music tech, to learn more about tech and programming for multimedia and I'm also taking some steps to try to deal with my AS and associated issues so it is possible that I may be able to get a better job in future. I don't believe in positive thinking anymore but it doesn't mean I've given up trying. I'm just moving forward within my limitations