Work ethic...?

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Okay, this probably has nothing to do with Asperger's, but...

I've had jobs before and I've been on numerous courses at colleges and things, but I always quit. I always think "why the hell am I doing this?" As long as I can afford to feed myself and buy the occasional bottle of cheap red wine, I don't care for money - I want to do a job because I want to do the job, not because it pays me £70k a year and makes my mother smile.

It occurs in everything I've ever attempted - I go to college and then I think "hang on... why am I at college? If I want to learn about history (or whatever), I can go and read a book... the qualification is only so I can get a job. Which I don't want."

Then that gets completely reversed and I think "hang on!! I really do want a job, because I just want to be settled - I want to get a flat and work and have a routine and stop having to prove myself and just do something!" but of course I can't do that because low-statusunder-paid jobs just make me miserable and I start to think I have prospects again and try not to waste them.

I've spent more time in armed forces recruitment offices this year than I could have dreamed of!

Now I'm at university... it's nice in a way because I sort of get to do nothing in particular and feel like I'm living independently and all that associated muck.

...anyway, is this the aspie in me rattling the bars of its mental cage, or am I just crap?

Sometimes, I feel this way too. But then I think, maybe I'll need the money sometime in the future. And, besides, even if I don't need it, it doesn't hurt to have it. So, as you say, I "hang on". And then I get a good job and a nice apartment and in the end this makes me happier.

I think all this is because your aspie side that tries to take control and your NT side fights against it. Just try to find the equilibrium between them. I hope this helps a little.

I see it also as a challenge for myself, to prove my character. I CAN DO THINGS THAT I DO NOT LIKE!

Doing things I do not like on my job got myself a few new tasks I like more than my original tasks. Same with the money. I do not need a lot of money to cover my normal expenses, but sometimes I want to do other activities and it is great that I do not have to worry about the money. Money makes you independent.

Productive work is a human beings noblest endeavour.

Psychologically speaking, the fact you keep quitting is more a sign of a lack of self-esteem, than an innate lack of work ethic.

I would suggest if your answer to the fundamental question: "Am I worth it?" is yes, then you'd have no problem finding and keeping to task. Projecting a goal and working to accomplish it (career goal for sake of context) will take care of everything else as far as university or gaining employment and developing a career is concerned. That it seems to be, currently, "no" is sign that you should seek some form of help, or seek a fundamental change in your world view.

It's a weird one... I can't really put it into enough words without really sounding like an idiot, but so long as I can live, I really don't care about the money - I'll spend £2,000,000 just as fast as I'll spend £20 so there's no point in working myself into depression just so I can have a lot of money when I'm old.

All the jobs I particularly want to do (mostly uniformed professions) I want to do because I'd be proud of myself for doing them and I'd feel like it was more worthwhile than clawing my way up some corporation with dollar signs in my eyes... I'm hoping to go into either the Army as an officer, or the police -- and I'd gladly do either of them even if they paid minimum wage.

As for the quitting... I really do have trouble sticking to anything for a prolonged period of time. I'm always super-occupied with one particular thing, be it an area of history or a desired job or some silly life-plan or whatever... and then I'll find something else and put all my attention into that. To be honest, though, I think I just want to be doing something and university's pretty bad because they don't crack the whip enough and I end up doing nothing.

It's almost as if I just want to do everything for just a liiittle while at a time.

It seems to me you don't want to do what has been done before. So don't. Be your own person, and if you don't want university, don't do university. If you get to be 50 years old and want to do the university stuff, do it then. I think it is that you don't have any long-term goals, and they simply aren't big enough - whether you have feeling for the goals, does it matter? You can't see the big picture, and think that whatever work is done, at the end of the day, it becomes crap again. In a way that is true, so bypass the brainwork and the walletwork and work on making a reputation to others. Just work on outdoing your yesterday's best. Don't let apathy get the best of you.

I'm at that point as well, so don't look at tomorrow, but look at a 100 years from now - will people know your name then? Work for the 100-year goal, not the money or the brains.

I made that mistake brother. Made it into Air Force basic training, even had a guaranteed job as a Cryptologic Linguist. Didn't make it through basic, even though I was discharged for medical reasons (physical), something tells me I couldn't have made it through basic psychologically, largely due to my aspie limitations or perhaps because I went in for the wrong reasons... job\work and discipline.

The short of it: DO NOT do this because of work. ONLY do this if the main reason is to serve your country at the expense of your personal freedom. No other reason will maintain you through the hardships of the military for very long.

Edit: Also remember, if you decided: "Hey guys, I'm done now with the military" before your active duty contract is up, you go to prison. Period. 2 years minimum in prison. Unless you decide to feign crazy, then you get a mental illness (not just a disorder) on your record permanently, which disqualifies you from more than you would think. Also remember, ALL MILITARY CONTRACTS ARE 8 YEARS LONG!! !! A 4 year contract is 4 years active duty, 4 years inactive duty, which inactive means if they need you and they call on you, you serve active again til they no longer need you.

Look into this more and look into yourself more before you make not just a mistake, but a HUGE negatively-life-altering mistake.

Well said

I'd like to give it a go - there's something awful and modern about civilian life that I just can't deal with. The British Army still holds on to a lot of the ethics of history, and that's something I feel more in tune with... the fact that I'm not allowed out for four years can't be anything but a bonus - even if I hate it, I'm learning the life-skills that I need to put up with doing things I don't neccessarily want to do.

I hated secondary school with a passion - I was rather tormented and underconfident, but I still stuck that out for five yeas and I'm a stronger person for it.

...haha however the fitness side of it! Ooooh dear.

I have found in my life that my work ethic has always been sloppy and terrible. I hate doing the little bits and pieces so much that I have to threaten myself, worry myself, force myself to get things done.

I think it is part of having not so good executive function- my body and mind dont feel connected to each other so have difficulty working together..

When I did some volunteer work that didnt involve executive functioning once, and it was interesting and challenging.. I was amazed that suddenly I had a work ethic! I didnt even have to think about it!

And what I was doing was work, useful, not a hobby.

I put in hours there and while I was always tired and frustrated immediately when doing office work, it took hours to get tired and fatigued from the non-executive work. It was the TYPE of work.

So I think it that we need to find what we want to do, along with a good environment.... I think environmental factors are an issue for us too.

C
...

Nah, I don't think it's the crap in you (but there could be crap in you making you do other things :O )

I don't think you quitting is an issue that requires attention. I mean, I Think I go through something similar whenever I'm about to quit a job. It's just like a feeling of, "Couldn't I be accomplishing anything else?"

I understand how a uniform could represent accomplishment and status and stuff and you should definitely go for that if it is what interests you, but try to stick it out at the university while you attempt to acquire a uniform position? The more specializations under the belt -- wouldn't it be better?

*shrug*

but def. not crap in you.

Scribbler, I voted yes, but I like your patriotic attitude. There is a lot of anti military attitude on this board. I served in the US Navy for 4 years active and 2 years inactive. The reason my Navy is so good is because we cut our teeth fighting your Navy back in the days of John Paul Jones and Stephen Decauter. Our respective Navies had "Ships of wood and men of Iron". If you join the British military you will be part of the tradition that won the Battle of Trafalgar, stopped the Germans cold in the Battle of Britain and invaded Normandy. I was just someone who worked on Aircraft Wiring and Instrumentation Systems but I am proud of my service and you will be as well.