Richard L. Evans Quotes

I'm an optimist about other people. I'm not an optimist about myself.

A poor self-image is the magnifying glass that can transform a trivial mistake or an imperfection into an overwhelming symbol of personal defeat.

Everyone complains of his memory, but no one complains of his judgment.

When people compliment me, I don't put much meaning into them, but when they say bad things, I take them too seriously. I try to fix this mentality, but it's hard.

I'm such a pessimist. I find it impossible to enjoy anything, especially while it's happening. I'm thinking about how to get the next thing right.

When I think I've made an error, it can cause me a sleepless night. But that only happens rarely.

I'm a paranoid person. And I think - I'm the kind of person that can come up with lots of negative scenarios. But I remembered thinking that seemed like - that was a stretch even for me.

Fearfulness, contrary to all other vices, maketh a man think the better of another, the worse of himself.

Worrying is imagining that which you don't want.

The most common source of mistakes in management decisions is the emphasis on finding the right answer rather than the right question.

Did you stop because it was good enough, or could have done more - but then maybe ruined it too? Sometimes you finish because you've gone too far.

The three foundations of judgement: Bold Design, Constant Practice, and Frequent Mistakes.

I can't even say I made my own mistakes. Really - one has to ask oneself - what dignity is there in that?

I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.

My sense of insecurity keeps me alert, always ready to correct my errors.

I came to the conclusion that the optimist thought everything good except the pessimist, and that the pessimist thought everything bad, except himself.

Seeing ourselves as others see us would probably confirm our worst suspicions about them.

I'm a worrier. In the UK, if I'm known for anything, it's sort of for being cynical.

The more time you have to think things through, the more you have to screw it up.

An egocentric pessimist is a person who thinks he hasn't changed, but that other people are behaving worse than before.

I can't listen to my own voice, I don't like it. You see all your mistakes when you hear your voice. You see all your imperfections.

Maybe I was just one of those people who couldn't rest easy unless things went catastrophically wrong.

Worry is negative goal setting.

If you have more than one reason to do something (choose a doctor or veterinarian, hire a gardener or an employee, marry a person, go on a trip), just don’t do it. It does not mean that one reason is better than two, just that by invoking more than one reason you are trying to convince yourself to do something. Obvious decisions (robust to error) require no more than a single reason.

Little bits of things make me do it; — perhaps a word that I said and ought not to have said ten years ago; — the most ordinary little mistakes, even my own past thoughts to myself about the merest trifles. They are always making me shiver.