Richard Pink > Quotes

“No one can hate themselves into a version of themselves that they like”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“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

“Compassion and non-judgement will bring about more positive change than shame and judgement ever will.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“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

“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

“CONVERCOASTER: jumping topics mid-conversation, much like a rollercoaster”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“Hyperfocus is an extremely intense ability to focus on a particular subject, for a duration of time that cannot be estimated. It appears on a whim, and turns off whenever it chooses.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“My attention loves challenge, novelty, and unfortunately, it thrives on stress.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“So, although I know the wandering hippie of Rox’s mind will always take the scenic route, I’m always there with a map back home, via the path that needs to be walked.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

“It’s time to let hyperfocus just be a thing that you do, rather than something that must be tamed in order for you to feel lovable.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“although I know the wandering hippie of Rox’s mind will always take the scenic route, I’m always there with a map back home, via the path that needs to be walked.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“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

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

“I was constantly torn between my desperate need to achieve my “gifted child” potential and my personal shame over the fact I couldn’t make my bed, do my washing, or take care of my finances. When you stack years of feeling like a failure on top of each other, you get a person with rock-bottom self-esteem.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“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

“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

“It’s absolutely beautiful to share some of our most embarrassing struggles with those we love, and to let them help.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“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

“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

“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

“had learned to regulate my own emotions and had learned the ability to respond, not react.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why adults with ADHD are so ashamed and what we can do to help

“It’s only by being honest that we can begin to accept these parts of ourselves, and allow others to accept them too.”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

“INTERHEAD: when you feel like you have 100 internet browser tabs open in your brain at once”
― Richard Pink, Dirty Laundry: Why Adults with ADHD Are So Ashamed and What We Can Do to Help

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