Quotes About Insecurity

The first night was awful because I was so afraid, and I was never more afraid because it was going out of my character to be outgoing and to be vulnerable and to be out there and onstage. My hands were sweaty and I couldn't swallow, and I drank a bottle of wine to calm my nerves.

'Filly Brown' gave me the wings to fly, but red carpets are still very uncomfortable.

I grew up thinking you're either a winner in the world, or you're not. I presumed I was not. I had no reason to think I would be, and my inclination is towards self-deprecation. I wish I'd known no one was judging my every move, but I'm still like this!

I was at the Olympic Games winning medals and I still doubted my image. I doubted what I looked like. That's sad.

When I was 11 years old, I was bullied. It mainly started when I moved to California to pursue my dreams of being an actress. Kids back home in Texas, who I thought were my friends, were saying things behind my back. They said that I would never make it because I wasn't talented or pretty enough to be on TV.

Growing up in Texas, I was already dealing with the fact that I didn't even know I was Asian until a certain age. I just was informed about it in a somewhat negative way by my peers. And that immediately put me into that mindset where I felt very othered. My safety always felt like it wasn't something that I could consider a given.

I definitely check my phone for texts a lot - like, 'Did anyone text me? Is anyone thinking about me? Does anyone love me?'

I think for women, especially women of colour, hair has so much to do with our identity and our confidence levels. I've made a conscious choice after growing up and feeling insecure and trying to achieve this look that actually wasn't me, where I've finally stopped relaxing my hair and went back to my natural texture.

I hear a lot from women in Africa. And not just from dark-skinned women but from all women struggling because of insecurity. They thank me and tell me that I inspire them. And that makes me feel really, really proud.

I was so much more insecure at 19. Thank God. It would be really cruel if there were a 19-year-old walking around with my confidence.

I'm one of those actors who fall into the camp of never wanting to look at themselves on camera ever, thank you very much. I do not and will not, because I am my worst critic.

When I was first in the fashion industry, I would get hired for a day and be thankful that they wanted me back the following day. There was no long-term security.

What I am afraid of is the first thing I was ever aware of being afraid of and what I have told my daughter countless times she need not fear: being alone in the dark. It is a small prison of emotion from which there is no escape. It is also, in its own way, a shattering revelation.

The hardest thing about being an unpublished writer is that there's always that voice in your head that asks if you're really being a fool. You might just really stink and not know it. You have to have a lot of blind faith in the process. You have to like it so much that you're going to do it anyway.

I think for a woman, the hardest thing about growing old is becoming invisible. There's something very front and center about being young.

To say something nice about yourself, this is the hardest thing in the world for people to do. They'd rather take their clothes off.

I would hide behind my parents' legs at social events, I was even shy in front of my sisters. I was a really, really ridiculously shy boy. But the one thing I took from my public school education was confidence.

I used to go red when anybody spoke to me. It's awful because you absolutely cannot control it. If you are a child that blushes, or is shy, the one thing you want in the world is to be the child who comes in and says, 'Hi,' to everyone and goes up and makes friends.

Performing was something I could cling to. It was the only thing I had some control over and that's why I did it. If I hadn't, I'm not sure which way I'd have gone.

The only thing I don't have is hips.

That's the problem with having a bald head. It exaggerates the shape.

I have phobias of everything you can name, but the problem with hypnotism is handing control over to someone else - and that is one of my phobias!

One of the most important things for me in terms of my working method is doubt. I get very insecure about my ideas. And I don't say 'insecure' in kind of a paranoid way. I mean just: 'Are they good enough?' 'Is this the right thing to do?' I really beat myself up over that.

As an artist, you're very sensitive about your art. And you feel like, 'Am I doing the right thing? Am I making the right music?'