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Quiet Space

Words that stick

66 art-directed quote cards on attention, motivation, emotion, identity, difference and being human — from researchers, writers, thinkers and ADHDier. Save the ones that land.

66 cards

“The task isn't too big. The starting line is in the wrong place.” — ADHDier

“You didn't forget because you didn't care. You forgot because it was only ever in your head.” — ADHDier

“There are two times for an ADHD brain: now, and not now.” — ADHDier

“If it isn't visible, it isn't happening. Put it where your eyes go.” — ADHDier

“Your attention isn't broken. It just wasn't told what mattered.” — ADHDier

“Everything comes in at the same volume. That's not carelessness. That's a filter working differently.” — ADHDier

“Boring is not a personality flaw. For some brains it's a genuine barrier.” — ADHDier

“You can focus. You focused for four hours yesterday. On the wrong thing, at the wrong time, brilliantly.” — ADHDier

“The feeling arrives before the thought does. That's the whole problem, and it's not a character defect.” — ADHDier

“Big feelings aren't too much. They're just early.” — ADHDier

“Shame is the tax you've been paying on someone else's idea of normal.” — ADHDier

“You are not behind. You are running a system that was designed for a different brain.” — ADHDier

“A system you actually use beats a system that looks impressive on a Sunday.” — ADHDier

“Every good ADHD system has one rule: fewer steps than the day you'll use it on.” — ADHDier

“The pile isn't laziness. The pile is a decision you haven't been given the energy to make.” — ADHDier

“You don't need more discipline. You need less friction.” — ADHDier

“Being understood by one person changes what you can survive.” — ADHDier

“Behaviour is communication. So is the meltdown at 4pm on a Thursday.” — ADHDier

“Masking works right up until the moment it costs more than it saves.” — ADHDier

“You are not a badly organised person. You are a well-organised person with no scaffolding.” — ADHDier

“Motivation isn't the fuel. Interest, urgency, novelty and challenge are the fuel.” — ADHDier

“Start smaller than feels serious. Seriousness is what stopped you last time.” — ADHDier

“Five minutes of the wrong version beats another week of the perfect plan.” — ADHDier

“The gap between knowing and doing is not laziness. It's where ADHD lives.” — ADHDier

“You will not remember. Design for the version of you who doesn't.” — ADHDier

“Late is rarely about time. It's about the last thing you did before leaving.” — ADHDier

“Nothing about your brain needs fixing before your life is allowed to get easier.” — ADHDier

“Rest isn't a reward for finishing. It's part of the mechanism that lets you start.” — ADHDier

“Comparison is a bad measuring tape. It never records what it cost you to get here.” — ADHDier

“Asking for the instructions again is cheaper than guessing for an hour.” — ADHDier

“Some days the win is that you did the hard thing badly instead of not at all.” — ADHDier

“The point of a diagnosis is not an excuse. It's an accurate map.” — ADHDier

“Loud isn't the same as difficult. Quiet isn't the same as fine.” — ADHDier

“Your environment can carry some of the cognitive load.” — ADHDier

“You can understand the pattern without excusing the impact.” — ADHDier

“Small enough to start is sometimes better than important enough to finish.” — ADHDier

“What helps on Tuesday might not help on Thursday. Build options, not rules.” — ADHDier

“A reminder only works if you notice the reminder.” — ADHDier

“Interest is a resource. Spend it deliberately.” — ADHDier

“Feelings arrive at full volume. That isn't a character flaw.” — ADHDier

“Time doesn't feel like a line. It feels like now and not-now.” — ADHDier

“Being liked and being understood are not the same relief.” — ADHDier

“The plan failed. Not you.” — ADHDier

“Sometimes the hardest part of the task is entering it.” — Sian Trombley

“If your brain won't hold it, your environment can.” — Sian Trombley

“A good system remembers for you.” — Sian Trombley

“The goal isn't always to try harder at remembering. Sometimes it's to need to remember less.” — Sian Trombley

“Understanding your brain doesn't remove responsibility. It gives you better information about how to work with it.” — Sian Trombley

“There is a difference between knowing what to do and being able to access it when you need it.” — Sian Trombley

“A system that only works when you're having a good brain day isn't much of a system.” — Sian Trombley

“Sometimes what looks like procrastination from the outside feels like paralysis from the inside.” — Sian Trombley

“The goal isn't to build a perfectly organized life. It's to build one that asks less of your working memory.” — Sian Trombley

“Kids do better when we get curious about what's getting in the way before deciding they simply aren't trying.” — Sian Trombley

“Self-understanding should make life more workable, not become another label you have to live inside.” — Sian Trombley

“Hyperfocus isn't free. It borrows from later.” — Sian Trombley

“The hard part wasn't the work. It was the eleven seconds before it.” — Sian Trombley

“Same person, different day, different capacity. Both were you.” — Sian Trombley

“Being told you're ‘so capable’ is heavy when the day doesn't cooperate.” — Sian Trombley

“ADHD is not a disorder of knowing what to do. It is a disorder of doing what you know.” — Russell A. Barkley

“You have a Ferrari engine for a brain with bicycle brakes.” — Edward M. Hallowell

“Kids do well if they can.” — Ross W. Greene

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear

“Make it obvious. Make it attractive. Make it easy. Make it satisfying.” — James Clear

“Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” — Anne Lamott

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.” — Mary Oliver

“Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others.” — Kristin Neff

“A system that only works when you're having a good brain day isn't much of a system.” — Sian Trombley — Sian Trombley
Certified Therapist & Teacher, Founder of ADHDier
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