As you read in other chapters, having OCD doesn't have to affect your life in an entirely negative way. Not only can your difficulties help make you a more compassionate person than you might be otherwise, but also, some OCD tendencies — perfectionism, doubt, organization, worry — could actually help you to do a better job than you might otherwise. This does not mean, of course, that you want your OCD to stick around or, heaven forbid, get worse. It only means that if you can use some of your particular traits to advantage in certain situations, you might as well. Jobs in which your OCD might be an asset include housecleaning, any job that requires organization, and medicine. (After all, washing your hands really does prevent infection from spreading.)

Don't forget that, in certain circumstances, there are ways to turn a seeming negative into a positive. Advertisers have known this for years: the strong-smelling household cleaner that works “so good” or the mouthwash you hate, but use. And, of course, you may remember then-presidential-candidate Ronald Reagan, who didn't want his age to keep him out of the White House, famously refusing to “exploit” his opponent's “youth and inexperience”! In this same way, you might just make your seeming “disadvantage” work for you. Maybe your boss happens to be in luck because he's hired a person who's “OCD about” details or what-have-you. OCD works for the fictional “Monk” (at least in his professional life). Maybe, in some ways at least, it can work for you.