does anyone else with a.s. feel that life has been a waste?

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I'm almost 41 years old, but judging from my life experiences, accomplishments and knowledge/wisdom, you might as well omit the forty

Yeah, well you are not alone. I have never been happy working for a corporation or for anyone else.

You are not alone. Maybe, those of us on this thread who feel and think the same way you do are your only friends in the whole universe.

It's difficult to ponder how much of life is a waste.
Diagnosed at the at of 58, I can be certain that for most of my life, I have not met my full potential because I was living a lie. For 58 years I was not my own self - I was what I thought other people, NT people, said I should be. OK, I was naive, I never realised they were try to mould me into an NT person. Ha!
That said, since then I have tried to find how to turn my quirks to advantage. Not easy. Probably only partially successful. And I try really hard not to dwell on the past waste as I can't do anything about it, unfortunately.

You are not alone..... We are the sage age (approximately) and have that same issue....you are not alone

Yes, very much this. I had a belief that if I just got good grades and worked (somewhat) hard everything would be Ok. I underestimated gravely how much of a part that social interaction and hierarchies play.

The difficulty is also ignoring it, as it by now should be Ok for me to just make it on my own with my own company - but for some reason I want to make it in the "real world" and get appreciation by peers. Quite an impossible equation as I really should understand by now.

I'm 22 years old and I kind of feel that way right now.

Being in my mid-30's now, I've had this same feeling of wasting my life ... Well, "wasting" is a word I've tended to stop using since living one's own life is a subjective experience. Today, I've realized, and it hit me like a ton of bricks, that most would see me as truly unexceptional, an understanding that often leaves me feeling quite depressed.
I'm PARTIALLY the cause for this as I've spent most of my life alone with maybe 1 or 2 years where I made an effort to connect with people but, following 2013 - 2014, I hadn't made a notable effort in increasing my friendships or even solidifying the ones I've already made.

It's my nature, I suppose, to be alone but there are too many times "loneliness" haunts me and I feel like my life was simply wasted mainly because I was taught, indoctrinated if I feel really honest, to believe peer perception and "being exceptional" in the eyes of others should dictate worth. Sadly, in a sense, this was, for me, WRONG and it took me taking in a large number of fairweather friends to realize how unfulfilling that can be. You can't get any value out of loose "friendships" and I'm realizing the close friends I have now are what I need ... and I don't need to satisfy the perspectives or egos of others in order to live a good life. So whoops on me during the early 2010 - 2012.

I'm gradually getting better about forming and arranging a new and healthier view of the world. Right now, I'm fighting this feeling of mediocrity, of being truly unexceptional, and have been for a majority of my life and gets to me. I have no career as of yet, no real noteworthy events anyone can pat me on the back for and A TON of embarrassing moments that have now become core memories that worsen days of depression like this. And, the worst part is, I know, intellectually, I have no reason to feel bad about getting out there and trying, and "failing", and trying, and "failing" again. But, like yourself, and many people in this forum have said, this is a normal, human feeling.

And, like yourself, I think it would best serve me to realize, "waste" is a matter of perspective ... and I'm getting tired of taking on outside perspectives to dictate who I am, or my worth, as a person.

where do i begin? all my life i've felt [and have been told by other family members] that there was no rhyme nor reason to my existence, that i just stumble from situation to situation with no forethought or design. "free will" is the most abstract of concepts for me, with no real-world function in my life so far. took me most of my life to realize the definition of common sense was all the stuff one has to know in order to make their way in the world effectively. despite all this, i have finally, haphazardly learned some useful things which are of spiritual benefit and incidental worldly benefit. more the former than the latter.

yes. i don't think it was preventable and a lot of it was imposed on me but i know i would have failed anyway.

the judge said, "my heart breaks for you... you were set up for failure." but in reality what i was given ('set up for') was many steps above where i would have been without...

the learning experiences (negative experiences, reframed) also expanded my mind to where im more aware and better at things i couldnt comprehend before...
then again
i do believe in a next life, and all.

in that regard, i can say that much of the struggle will not have been a waste.

in fact may elevate my merit--my struggles with AS will double or triple the reward of my efforts compared to if i didn't have AS-related and anxiety/depression-related issues.

also if my severe disabled kid decides i'm his fave person (unlikely, as he loves so many people), i get to go with him to heaven anyway. he is basically the comfort of my heart, his existence brings me actual fulfilment.

that's all irrelevant stuff to those who don't share these beliefs (which is the majority here) but must mention, as the question can't be thoroughly answered without that.

I'm 54. I always knew I was a little "off" but I have a good job, married with three kids so maybe it's not a big deal if I have no real friends, find myself living in my own little world sometimes and want as little to do with the outside world as I can get away with.

This drives my extroverted wife nuts to the point that she's considering divorce. During a counseling session the counselor took my wife's description of my actions, added in that I never looked her in the eye, and suggested I may have autism. Judging from the info on Autism Speaks and looking back on my childhood, I'm pretty sure I do.

Now I wonder what my life would have been like if I had known sooner. Back in the '70s and '80s kids like me were "shy" or "awkward" and were told that we'd "come out of our shell" when we were ready.

^^^welcome to WP, Mike

My whole life has been wasted;
that's why I've spent my whole life wasted.

i wish my body would let me get blotto

You and Otto Mann both.

This seems a good step to prevent the younger ASd not have to end up feeling this way, hopefully
If implemented widely, such simple adjustments would likely prevent suicides in the long run

My life has been partially a "waste."

But other facets of my life have been fulfilling.