The Beautiful, Bizarre, and Brilliant Perks of Being Neurodivergent

 

I’ve shared a lot recently about the lifelong challenges of being neurodivergent — especially the ones I didn’t fully understand until I was well into my 40s. The burnout. The self-doubt. The time blindness. The endless internal tug-of-war between “I’m capable of amazing things!” and “I just spent three hours in the kitchen and forgot to make lunch.” 

 And while it’s important to talk openly about those challenges — to break stigma, to feel less alone, and to help others make sense of their own experience — it’s equally important to talk about the beautiful, bizarre, and yes, sometimes hilarious upsides of living life through a neurodivergent lens. 

So today, I want to take a moment to shout out some of the amazing parts of being wired a little differently: 

🔹 When something clicks, you dive so deep you might know more about it than the person who invented it. And that’s not even a brag — it’s just how the brain works when it’s fascinated. You don’t casually like something. You study it, dream about it, build spin-off ideas from it, and start reimagining how it could change the world. What starts as curiosity often blooms into a blueprint for something incredible. 

🔹 Hyperfixation mode is a creativity superpower. When it hits, it’s like rocket fuel for productivity — a full-body focus that turns hours into minutes. Of course, you might also forget to eat, ignore the doorbell, and wonder why your legs feel numb (spoiler: you haven't stood up in 6 hours). Still, when harnessed well, it can be magical. 

🔹 You’ve got a world-class radar for fakes and phonies. Whether it’s a snake oil salesman, a toxic boss, or someone pretending to care when they really don’t, neurodivergent intuition can cut through the noise like a hot knife through cliché. It’s not always accurate — occasionally someone with mild indigestion gets mistaken for a corporate villain — but your instincts are often scarily spot-on. 

🔹 Sometimes the thing you were stressing about? Already done. Executive dysfunction can wreak havoc, but every so often, it pulls a fast one and delivers a pleasant surprise. You’ll panic that you forgot to send that email, only to find it in your “Sent” folder from three days ago. Is it time blindness? Memory tricks? Accidental time travel? Who knows — but it’s a win. 

🔹 Your workspace looks like a cross between a toy store and a therapy office. Because stimming isn’t just helpful — it’s necessary. So you’ve got fidget cubes, squishy toys, stress balls, clicky pens, maybe a slinky or two. And when the world gets too loud or too overwhelming, that sensory support is a life-saver. Plus, honestly? Fidget gadgets are fun. Why shouldn’t your desk spark joy? 

🔹 Empathy. Empathy. Empathy. When you’ve spent your life being misunderstood, it changes how you show up for others. You make space. You notice discomfort. You offer grace. Neurodivergence can make emotional regulation tricky, but it also gives you a powerful lens for compassion — especially for the people who don’t fit the mold. 

🔹 You feel everything big. The lows can be rough, sure. But the highs? The excitement, the joy, the spontaneous burst of laughter at something absurd? That’s where the magic lives. When you’re happy, you don’t just feel it — you radiate it. Like a burst of sunshine, or a game of emotionally contagious hot potato. (Okay, sometimes it’s more like a joyful sneeze. Messy, but authentic.) 

There are challenges to being neurodivergent in a world built for neurotypicals. But there are also gifts — intense focus, creative thinking, deep compassion, and an unusual way of seeing and feeling the world. 

So here’s to the wins. The weirdness. The wild ideas. The desks full of fidgets and the hearts full of fire. 

If you're neurodivergent, what are your favorite strengths? What quirks have become superpowers? 

Let’s celebrate what makes us different — not just survive it.