trying new things?

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How open are you to trying new things?

When I was young I was very set in my ways, particulary in regards to my room, people and food. I liked the regimented daily schedule of school. I’ve always been offended by the expression “push you out of your comfort zone” because I instinctively knew how I need a comfort zone much more than NTs (although this was before my diagnosis). I find it grossly arrogant and insensitive of them to presume what’s best for someone else.

But as I got older, friends occasionally exposed me to new things that I wouldn’t have tried on my own. I really enjoyed many of these new parts of my life to the extent that the good things outweighed the bad things. And I’ve always found that a wider range of experiences causes less narrow-mindedness in myself and others.

So my question is, how much is being “set in one’s ways” an Aspie issue, as opposed to an anxiety issue? (And, yes, I know anxiety disorders are commonly associated with Asperger’s Syndrome.) Should we go along when friends/family/therapists encourage us to explore new things?

I don't mind trying new things from time to time, although I don't generally get bored of the same routine especially quickly either -- it does happen after a good long while though. It may have to do with the fact that I never had any sort of anxiety disorder.

So, to answer your question, yes, going out and trying new things is a good idea. If I hadn't tried new ideas, I wouldn't be where I am today. Though I do understand -- not everyone is always ready for that. My advice is get fairly comfortable with where you're at and then go and try something new.

This question really, really threw me for a loop. At first, I was going to tell you that disliking change and having specific routines is a really common autism thing and leave it at that, but then I thought about it. Anxiety and OCD, which would definitely make one more comfortable with having set ways of doing things, occur at high levels in autistics. I realized that it's possible that anxiety levels are high enough that a symptom of that got picked up as a symptom of autism.
I don't have any science or really anything concrete to prove it, but I personally just feel that being "set in one's ways" is an Aspie/autism thing that is merely exacerbated by comorbid conditions sometimes. From what I understand, allistics with anxiety (at least, I'm not so sure about OCD) don't have quite the same level of need for structure, although I'm sure there is at least some of that for them as well (although that being said, some things do get expressed differently in people with autism and people without). And I think there are Aspies/autistics without any form of anxiety who also have a really strong need for routine (although once again, I don't have any figures, so for all I know that's such a small minority that it could be chalked up to individual preference/personality). So if I had to say whether being "set in one's ways" is an autism or an anxiety thing, I would say it's an Aspie/autism thing.
In response to your last question, I would say that we definitely should try new things if we can. A lot of new things are good, or at least good experiences. That being said, I think that allistics should try to be more considerate of autistics and our limits and not force us to do things we're really uncomfortable with or literally cannot do. But when we can experience new things, I think it's a good idea to try.