Quotes About Perfectionism

It was always difficult for me to listen to my singing voice for the first 20 years or so. I mean, I really enjoyed singing, and I enjoyed doing live shows, but being in a recording studio and having to hear my voice played back to me would really drive me up the wall.

You don't wanna see your work, because you might find out that you do not like it.

There are so many songs that I could not sing the way I wanted to. When such songs come on television or radio, I shut them off or leave the room.

I've always wanted to do a photo book, but I've never done one because I've never felt ready; I just didn't feel my work was good enough.

Depression can kill you. It can also be a spiritually enriching experience. It's really an important part of my theology now and my spirituality that life is not perfect, and I grew up wanting it to be and thinking that if it wasn't, I could make it that way, and I had to acknowledge that I had all kinds of flaws and sadnesses and problems.

I don't think I've ever made something that I'm totally satisfied with. That feeling of doubt, or wanting to do more, is my engine to move forward and make the next iteration.

When I think about that first DeBarge album, I remember being so green... just pristine. Nothing mattered to me but writing songs. I remember staying locked up in a room with my piano and just singing and writing songs all day long. I remember being a perfectionist about it... wanting to change this and fix that.

I can't stand a house to be dirty or even messy, even. I am a bit OCD. Wash the dishes when you finish eating.

Crawford washed her hands a lot. She washed her arms all the way up past her elbows. She just couldn't get enough done in that direction. She was compulsive about being clean, clean, clean!

I couldn't sleep for nights on end, as my brain felt like there were thoughts colliding within it; I obsessed over small details, from saving pennies and polishing each one of them to washing my clothing over and over in the washing machine.

Few perfectionists can tell the difference between love and approval. Perfectionism is so widespread in this culture that we actually have had to invent another word for love. 'Unconditional love,' we say. Yet, all love is unconditional. Anything else is just approval.

Her mother could win Olympic gold in fussing.

It doesn't matter how well you polish the underside of the banister." You

Because I could do things on the snooker table that no other player could do, I just had this sort of self-destruct button in me.

I cancel going out if my hair doesn't look good.

I just cannot take mediocrity. I just cannot take it on any level.

I never trust anything that can be captured in 2 takes.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to play a certain way.

I think that we are so challenged as women to be everything and do everything and make it look easy.

I'm not a good choreographer: I can't remember what I put down.

Who knew we had all this O.C.D. in the world? Well actually, I suppose it's pretty obvious. It explains Sudoku, doesn't it?

I don't have a single complete show or movie or anything else that I could look at and say, 'Nailed that one.' But endless dissatisfaction is, I suppose, what gets us out of bed in the morning.

I am always plagued with 'I'm not skinny enough, I'm not in shape.' I am not naturally this super-svelte kind of girl. I'm okay with that in my personal life. But it is kind of hard at times. I feel inadequate, I suppose?

Every single time I step into the studio, I say, 'Can I still do this? Do I still have it? Have I ever had it?' I suppose there's a good amount of self-loathing that goes into any form of artisanship.