Go with the flow?

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How many people choose to be like everyone else or have tried it?

Sometimes, going with the flow will guide you to safety; other times, it will crash you into the proverbial rocks.
It is necessary to approach conforming on a situational basis. Foe example, if the "flow" is bullying somebody, then it would be in the best interest of both you and the bullied to go against the flow and stand up for this person; on the other hand, if the flow is running away from a burning building, it may be best to run with them.

The problem with me and going with the flow is that I was not born with the intuitive ability to "go with the flow". One of my most strongest aspie symptoms is "spontaneous interaction" which is listed in the DSM. Its very difficult. I've had to utalize my intelligence and process social interaction through in intellectual/academic method. I had to develop strategies in how and when to intiated social contact.

Its like, make a checklist of what I need to do, what i need to not do, when should I approch someone, how should I approach someone, what should I say, what type of contacts do I have in this situation, how can I utalize my social contacts to socially incorporate myself in the situation. As you can see, I do everything but, "go with the flow". If I went with the flow it would equate, a mixture of extreme social withdrawn, bluntness, and inapproprieteness.

I never knew how to be like everyone else and I wouldn't want to.

Only dead fish go with the flow?

This.

It isn't exactly a choice, is it? If, as a kid, I had been able to realize what it was that made me different, I probably would have worked to change it. Too bad neurological conditions don't work that way. Everyone else could see the things that make us different, but if we, ourselves, cannot tell the difference, then there's nothing we can do.

I once had a friend with a mild Spanish accent. When I asked him if he knew what his accent sounded like, he told me that he didn't even hear an accent. I could've recorded his voice and played it back to him, but as far as he could tell, he was speaking perfect English. That's how it is for a lot of us with AS. I'm only aware of my odd behavior when somebody else points it out to me. On my own, the AS-related things I do seem as normal as the non-AS-related things. I suppose I could practice facial expressions in a mirror (which I have done before), but I still get times, like just last week, where a stranger sees me walking around a store and tells me, "You know it's okay to smile, right?" To me, I had a neutral face and I wasn't thinking about it. To everyone else, though, it must've seemed like a frown. Besides, despite years of suppressing physical signs like overt stimming in public, I still can't change how different I am inside my head. I could walk and talk like an NT, but in my brain, I'm still fascinated by the bug on the wall, thinking of the weather patterns forming in the sky, or laughing because a defaced sign I read looked like a funny word in French.

No, thank you. I'll pass.

Ive always ever since I was young been anxious and have had very bad anxiety attacks I have never gone with the flow until now, now that I am on medication and it is helping with my anxiety attacks I can now "go with the flow" and manage to do everyday things

But I've loved my uphill battle of a life. My navy years were the standout.