Two types of people

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And I dont mean ASD and NT.

The first type of person is outwardly focused. This is different from extroversion, and is often found in introverts, but its not a given.

The outwardly focused person is the type that sees that the world determines what happens to them. They dont have much control over fate. This sort of person might say "I'll never have friends, never married" because I am not liked, was born like this, people prevent me... and so on. They gain their strength and their weaknesses from this. You might be suprised, but a lot of NTs fit this mold.

Its not all bad, and some of the most social people are outwardly focused. They depend on the cooperation, admiration and company of other people in order to be happy. You'll find many therapists and case workers fall into this category. Their affirmation in life comes from the opinions of others. They success comes from fitting in.

Acting in the interests of others will make you fit this more.

The other type is inwardly focused. They draw their strength from within. Their confidence does not come from the approval of others, but rather the memory of previous events in their life, good or ill. They would say that they alone determine what they are and will become. They know that their destiny is shaped by their actions.

Its not all good. Sometimes this means they are not the most liked people, They can be stubborn and unempathetic. Some very admirable people fit this mold, even if they are not very nice. Martial artists would be an extreme example, as would be athletes of all sorts, Their training conditions them to accept no limits to their achievements, which can sometimes be fool hearty.

Overcoming adversity alone or physical training can fit you into this persona if that is what you wish.

You'll see both these types of people in this community, and often the division is along the cure/no cure lines. Most often we are a mixture of these types. I favor the latter myself, but hope to not express that either is superior.. its not.

But if I had to choose, I would say that the ASD mind is better suited to inward focused living. We should strive to be strong based on our attributes, rather than the approval of others around us. Once we have that, we will find that others admire us anyway.

Discuss.

I tend to think that we are one piece of a very large world, and that by sheer mathematics it's obvious that we are not the only or even likely the strongest force in our lives. At the same time, that does not exempt us from our responsibility to attempt to change things, whether inside or outside ourselves, that ought to change, or to accept the unacceptable.

When life is going my way, I'm type 2. When life sucks, type 1. I feel type 1 right now. It just seems like I'm working harder now than ever, and things have never turned out worse for me.

Oh my god, this must mean I'm two people.

Does this mean I can count one of my selves as a dependant for a tax break?

Years ago, I was about 80% type 1(outward), and 20% type 2(inward). Now, I would say I'm about 30% type 1, and 70% type 2, and the type 2 number is still climbing. For me, that's a good thing.

I find myself altering between the two

it seems like to me that the way things are set up in sociaty nothing can be done without the the number 2 being involved

Psychologists call this locus of control.

Funny, I don't believe in "free will" yet I'm very much an inward type, I'm an existentialist of a sort.