Quotes About Perfectionism

Perfectionism rarely begets perfection, or satisfaction - only disappointment.

I try and get it right the first time. I may rewrite a sentence four or five times, but I rarely go back and kill a whole page and rewrite it.

I rarely like the music I make. It's like nothing's good enough. I just stay in my head, waiting on the next best beat, so I can do something better than what I did.

If your ratings are high and there's money being made, you're allowed to be a perfectionist in television.

It's not a lack of confidence, because I can't argue with the fact that I've taken some good pictures. But it's just a raw fear that you've taken the last one.

With four perfectionists in the band, we have a hard time reaching perfection.

I'm so focused on trying to craft the story that I'm in my own little world with it and that process. The one reader I'm trying to please as I write is me, and I'm pretty difficult to please.

I've spent my whole life in real estate, whether it's in our hotels or looking at the competition, and it's my curse to walk into every room and not be drawn to the flaws and have the little imperfections drive me crazy - because they didn't need to happen.

I didn't realise until I did CBT that I was a perfectionist. Whenever you do anything, there are always going to be things that go wrong, it's never going to be 100 per cent perfect. Because of how I was, I'd focus on those bits and always see the negative in anything.

I care about my work, but I don't care about getting it wrong. The more you do, the more you realise nobody's going to die.

I know straight away if I can do better. It doesn't take people to criticise me for me to realise it.

If I came home with a grade of A, my father would say, 'There must have been a lot of dummies in that class.'

When I was growing up, I'd study for days trying to get good grades. When I'd get an 'A,' I'd feel elation for about 30 seconds, and then a feeling of emptiness.

I am a great believer that you should record more than you need and then use the absolute best.

Miyazaki has a great talent, but I really struggle every time I create a new film and am far from Miyazaki.

I can't think of anybody among the greats who isn't constantly looking at themselves and feeling dissatisfied. You're greedy in this business: always wanting to prove you can do more. I don't ever remember a time when I've said, My God, I've cracked it - this is lovely.

I'm trying to avoid, you know, guilt, even though before the child is born, you're already thinking you're doing things wrong... Why do I think that will probably carry over until the day you die?

Artists tend to get this thing called demo-itis, and I'm extremely guilty of that.

But deleting work is sometimes the best decision you that you can make. Because you try and make this thing, that you know in your gut isn't right, and you just have to let it go. You have to be brutal.

If you are in a gym class with other women, and even if you are in shape, you feel like, 'Do they think my legs are not right?' Since you are supposed to be the perfect one, they look for the defects. It's such an embarrassment.

I'm pretty OCD. I like to fine-tune every single detail. I think that's a habit built maybe from me being OCD.

I do have weird habits when I'm directing, or even think as a director, like when I move a cup, I make sure to put it back in the exact right place.

I thought I could do Barbie's hair and makeup better than the factory did. So I would get out my markers and scissors and play 'beauty salon' with them. Then I would be devastated because I ruined them!

So many times I've wanted to crack up, standing there stiff while seven women are crawling round my toes fixing hems and the designer's having a freak-out because the denim cuffs are crooked. I'm on the verge of hysteria.