Small Talk Quotes

“So many adults are now figuring out that they have ADHD and suddenly realising why life has been so hard. And they’re mourning the life they could have had. Grieving the hard years they have had to fight to make it through. It’s an important part of the process. And so is dreaming. And hoping—that their talents, interests, creativity and potential can be realised.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD lies and how to stop believing them

“Accepting that an ADHD partner is going to piss you off sometimes is actually extremely healthy. There is nothing wrong with getting frustrated. It’s how we deal with the frustration.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD lies and how to stop believing them

“You are not useless for having a neurodevelopmental condition. You just have it. You have the symptoms of it. And you will sometimes struggle because of it. You deserve help and support with your struggles.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD lies and how to stop believing them

“How about I put you on trial for your lack of creativity, special interests, and empathy? How about I roll my eyes at you when you can’t write a book, or start a creative business, or immediately know what is going on under the stoic expression of a loved one? It wouldn’t be fair, would it? To judge you as a failure because you don’t possess the same skills as me?”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD lies and how to stop believing them

“They swoop in to take the blame for everything before someone else has the chance to reject them and their behaviour.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“It was the shift from “I’m sorry” to “thank you.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“I am trying my best. I don’t need to “fix” myself.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“What would life look like if you stopped believing you needed fixing, and instead fixed your environment, your self-talk, and your view of yourself?”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“What would life look like if you stopped believing you needed fixing, and instead fixed your environment, your self-talk, and your view of yourself? We”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“You cannot stop ADHD symptoms by trying harder. In fact, the added pressure will often make those symptoms worse. The only things that help are acceptance and support.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“I just need to try harder to accept myself as I am.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“My problems were: Symptoms of a neurodevelopmental condition. Not a personal failure.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“You work really hard in your own way. You are a lot more capable than the world has made you believe.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“can sometimes struggle with things others find easy, and that’s okay. I work really hard in my own way.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“Our safety and our happiness should be number 1 on our list of priorities. Not our productivity.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“need rest to maximise my productivity when motivation strikes, and I am capable of huge amounts of work when I am focusing.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“Notivation means having no motivation for a low-dopamine task.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“What if all the energy you spent on desperately trying to fix yourself was spent on trying to nurture your natural gifts?”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them

“In all honesty, ADHD is a terrible name for it. I don’t have a deficit of attention; as I said in Dirty Laundry, I have the total opposite: a wild, uncontrollable attention. My biggest struggle isn’t trying to focus, or that I lose things, or struggle with time. It’s actually the chronically low self-esteem about my abilities I have been living with my whole life, and all of the negative core beliefs that I hold.”
― Richard Pink, Small Talk: 10 ADHD lies and how to stop believing them