Adult learning: let's encourage by discouraging

As a kid, I remember my mom saying things like "you won't be able to eat it" just to make me want to eat whatever is served on the plate. Similarly, "I don't think you can climb all the stairs" whenever she wanted me to climb the stairs. The thing is that the negativity sounded like a challenge and encouraged me to action.

So, I think, discouraging a child with the required tone can put the kid to action.
Does the same psyche work for adults? Can discouraging remarks put adults to action? If so, what is the tone we must use.

I am trying this on my wife by telling her  "I am not sure if you can be attentive enough to see around the car and drive safely" just to make her want to be more attentive when driving the car.

Over the last few months, I realized that it works. Just that when it comes to adults, discouraging remarks sound like a challenge only if you deliver it with a punch of possibility. Plain discouraging remarks can be disappointing, refrain from those.

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