Logo - Feel The Words

Avoiding Quotes

Words on what we avoid, and why.

These avoiding quotes look at the different things people dodge, from their own feelings and habits to truth itself, and what it costs to keep doing that.

Liberal arts colleges have traditionally provided a forum for debating ideas. Avoiding controversy and 'playing it safe' by not inviting - or disinviting - speakers with 'controversial' views stifles debate.

Quotes by Bob Beckel

There was no avoiding the fact that we were going to hit our debt ceiling.

Quotes by Bill Johnson

The immune system has evolved the capacity to react specifically with a very large number of foreign molecules with which it had no previous contact while avoiding reactivity for autologous molecules, naturally antigenic in other species or in other individuals...

Quotes by Baruj Benacerraf

Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.

Quotes by Ayn Rand

Avoiding offense means that we don't accept each other as equals.

Quotes by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Herr Schroder has conducted two electoral campaigns, and he is doing it again now, by not telling people what is really necessary. He keeps avoiding the difficult and uncomfortable issues, those that imply changes and therefore provoke discussions.

Quotes by Angela Merkel

My writing process, such as it is, consists of a lot of noodling, procrastinating, dawdling, and avoiding.

Quotes by Amy Bloom

Frequently Asked Questions

What does avoiding yourself mean in this topic?
One quote describes learning to be with oneself rather than avoiding oneself through limiting habits, and becoming more aware of feelings instead of numbing them, framing avoidance as something to move away from in favor of self-awareness.
Is avoiding always framed negatively here?
Mostly, though not uniformly. One quote openly admits to loving invention as a way of avoiding the truth, needing to dramatize rather than confront things directly, which reads as a candid, almost playful self-critique rather than pure regret.
What does the quote about disappearing suggest?
It's brief and direct: "I'm disappearing, avoiding most things," a simple statement that ties avoidance to withdrawal rather than any specific event or reason given in the quote itself.
Does the topic connect avoidance to conflict?
Yes, one quote argues that while everyone has the right to defend themselves, that's not the same as defying common sense by avoiding or diffusing confrontation, treating unhealthy avoidance of conflict as its own separate issue worth naming.
What's the opposite of avoiding, according to these quotes?
The quotes point toward awareness and acceptance, being present with one's own feelings rather than dodging them. For more on that direction, see Accept.

They also make room for a more careful view: defending yourself is a right, but Become someone who avoids confrontation entirely has its own cost.