Member-only story
16 Discouraging Quotes That Help Me Harness My Demand Avoidance
Sometimes, you need a bit of reverse psychology in your life.
If you are not a Medium member, you can read this story for free here.
You are probably familiar with various positive quotes floating around out there, especially online. Sometimes, they come from your favorite famous people. For me however, I have found myself rather motivated by discouragement at times, at least in part due to my demand avoidant tendencies. Here are some quotes that various people in my life have directed at me, sometimes with unintended consequences.
1. “Just become a DJ. Then you won’t have to talk to anyone.”
This came from a former viola teacher of mine when we went out to lunch to catch up years after I stopped studying with her. She felt that I did not have the interpersonal skills and personality required to maintain a professional orchestral position as a violist. Somehow, she didn’t catch on that I had abandoned that idea years prior after so many people had tried to shove orchestral playing down my throat as The Only Music Career Worth Pursuing. And no, I don’t want to become a DJ either and refuse to even try.