Quotes About Self-criticism

Last, perfectionism is not a way to avoid shame. Perfectionism is a function of shame.

By encouraging the critic in themselves (the hater) they have killed the artist (the lover).

Shame works like the zoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling.(page 68)

Preoccupation with self is always a major component of unhealthy guilt and recrimination.

If a man has nobody to punish him when he feels he deserves it, he starts punishing himself. It is this inward-turned hostility which causes the depression [...]

I never knew, and never shall know, a worse man than myself.

he escaped all criticism but his own, which was much the most competent and most formidable.

I don't approve of myself in the least. Sometimes it comes over me — how I should object to myself if I were not myself.

I do talk less now because the sound of my voice saying over and over the things I said years ago embarrasses and depresses me. Why do I say the same things over and over?

I do not abuse players. I talk to myself; I abuse myself. It's my way of letting off steam. I do it after every century; I do not do it always. I keep telling myself: 'Improve, improve from the previous match, the previous shot. You can do it.'

You can't go over every beat, every second, and worry about how you can do it better - it'll eat you alive.

Live records of mine are very painful to listen to because you always think you can do it better. I don't think I have a single favorite one.

I know how to treat my voice to make it sound as good as it possibly can - which is still not that good.

I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm one of the world's great rewriters.

I think the whole Flawless thing backfired in my face. I'm just like, 'oh, man! We're out here calling ourselves Flawless, and being the most obnoxious characters, that even I wanted to slap myself sometimes!' Even I would get sick of watching myself on TV!

I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. Between homework and sports and drama and being social, I slept about four hours a night through high school and college.

I walk away from jobs generally feeling good about it and that I've done a good job. And it's always slightly deflating when I see the film thing because it's still me up there.

I'm obviously slightly ill, because there is a burning desire to be perfect in me. It's probably the Catholic, or the ex-Catholic in me.

I shoot a scene, edit it, and then, two days later, I doubt whether or not it has turned out right. I reshoot a small part of it, go back to the first edit of it, and do all sorts of things.

I'm harsh on myself. But let's be honest: I'm not as harsh as the online one-star critic who says, 'This book is boring and stupid and smells like poo.'

I second guess everything I do musically, and I often could spend hours on, say, one snare sound.

So many people can tell me, 'You're amazing,' rather, but I don't think it. You know, so, I don't go around thinking this. I'm really hard on myself. I think that's quite good.

Vi gjør kanskje rett i å klandre oss selv for å frembringe noe så tåpelig som mennesket, og i å kalle akten skammelig og de organer som brukes til den, for skamdeler (mine egne er for tiden blitt så ynkelige at jeg virkelig skammer meg over dem).

Humans punish themselves endlessly for not being what they believe they should be. They become very self-abusive, and they use other people to abuse themselves as well.