--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we should stop asking people in…" description: "\"I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do.\" — Amy Poehler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg" --- # I think we should stop asking people in their twenties… ![“I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do.” quote by Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg) > “I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do.” [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ask young adults what they avoid, revealing true motivations and constraints. **In simple terms:** Focus on what they fear or dislike. Key Takeaway Identify hidden barriers. Themes motivation self‑awareness career Mood curious thoughtful Type coaching inspirational When to use this quote - career counseling - coaching sessions - personal development workshops Key Concepts behavioral psychology goal setting Questions to Reflect On - What are you secretly avoiding? - How can avoidance inform your goals? A Different Perspective People may not articulate avoidance clearly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Twenties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twenties/) ## Related quotes > [“Maybe we should stop asking how do we get people to pay for music, and start asking how do we let them pay for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/maybe-we-should-stop-asking-how-do-we-get-people-to-pay-for-music-and/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [“To quote a longtime member & friend, Phoenix, you will stop asking “Do they like me?” and start asking “Do I like them?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace/to-quote-a-longtime-member-friend-phoenix-you-will-stop-asking-do/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace/) > [I know that it's very dispiriting for people in their twenties, who expected to graduate from college, get their own apartments, get a job,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-know-that-it-s-very-dispiriting-for-people-in-their-twenties-who/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [In your twenties, you might want to be radical and change the world, but in your thirties, you might just want to be happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-krisel/in-your-twenties-you-might-want-to-be-radical-and-change-the-world/) [Jonathan Krisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-krisel/) > [It's past time to go when you start asking yourself if it's time to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-rotsler/it-s-past-time-to-go-when-you-start-asking-yourself-if-it-s-time-to-go/) [William Rotsler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-rotsler/) > [We are trained to ask "What's wrong and how we fix it?" Instead, start by asking - "What works, what have we got, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kenyon/we-are-trained-to-ask-what-s-wrong-and-how-we-fix-it-instead-start-by/) [Peter Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kenyon/) > [What amazes me is when I see people in their twenties who have families or live a life that seems of a much older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/what-amazes-me-is-when-i-see-people-in-their-twenties-who-have/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [Young people in their twenties spend three-four years doing things that are behind the times. We're capturing such people in a classroom for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-wangchuk/young-people-in-their-twenties-spend-three-four-years-doing-things/) [Sonam Wangchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-wangchuk/) > [Perhaps it suddenly brought to us the sense of change. Or irresponsibility. 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Stop asking me what two-plus-two is. Everybody knows two-plus-two is five.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/nobody-s-going-to-tell-me-how-to-be-different-so-stop-asking-me-stop/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Stop asking if Im ok. Im tired of lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-smarty/stop-asking-if-im-ok-im-tired-of-lying/) [Hemant Smarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-smarty/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) ## More by Amy Poehler > [When youre a stay-at-home mother you have to pretend its really boring, but its not. Its enriching and fulfilling, and an amazing experience. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/when-youre-a-stay-at-home-mother-you-have-to-pretend-its-really/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I hope and assume that every good comedy writer, no matter the age, has a moment where they discover how great Cheers is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-hope-and-assume-that-every-good-comedy-writer-no-matter-the-age-has/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I also think if you're an actor and you can improvise, when you go on an audition and you can improvise you're just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-also-think-if-you-re-an-actor-and-you-can-improvise-when-you-go-on/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [It seems a strange thing, but once I was able to get past that kind of self-image problem, I was able to open up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/it-seems-a-strange-thing-but-once-i-was-able-to-get-past-that-kind-of/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Sleep can completely change your entire outlook on life. 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Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/as-you-navigate-through-the-rest-of-your-life-be-open-to/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I like hard work and I don’t like pretending things are perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-like-hard-work-and-i-don-t-like-pretending-things-are-perfect/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [The pressure of 'what are you going to do?' makes everyone feel like they haven't done anything yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/the-pressure-of-what-are-you-going-to-do-makes-everyone-feel-like/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I ate two waffles, a banana and cereal with blueberries. And that whas between my two breakfasts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-ate-two-waffles-a-banana-and-cereal-with-blueberries-and-that-whas/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [ “\[On getting older\]: You can witness young people embarrassing themselves and get a thrill--that it's not you. You can watch them throw around their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/on-getting-older-you-can-witness-young-people-embarrassing-themselves/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Too often we women try to tackle chaos that is not ours to fix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/too-often-we-women-try-to-tackle-chaos-that-is-not-ours-to-fix/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don't know about. Limit your 'always' and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/try-to-keep-your-mind-open-to-possibilities-and-your-mouth-closed-on/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [All we do is watch The Wire and go out to dinner with our friends. I wish I could tell you that we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/all-we-do-is-watch-the-wire-and-go-out-to-dinner-with-our-friends-i/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I have these meetings with really powerful men and they ask me all the time, 'Where are your kids? Are your kids here?' It's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-have-these-meetings-with-really-powerful-men-and-they-ask-me-all/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) [Explore all 296 Amy Poehler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? 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And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what they don't want to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amy Poehler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in-their-twenties-what-they-want/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asking" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in-their-twenties-what-they-want/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/amy-poehler-1084_asking_i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in_3071532.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think we should stop asking people in their twenties what they 'want to do' and start asking them what…” — Amy Poehler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amy Poehler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think we should stop asking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in-their-twenties-what-they-want/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/i-think-we-should-stop-asking-people-in-their-twenties-what-they-want/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```