Self-Imposed Expectations Quotes

I'm probably my biggest critic. There's nothing anyone can ask of me that I haven't already asked of myself.

I think the biggest thing was that I was putting pressure on myself leading up to Beijing. Now I am learning how to take that pressure off and seeing this as an incredible opportunity, but not like, 'I absolutely have to medal.'

The three great American vices seem to be efficiency, punctuality, and the desire for achievement and success. They are the things that make the Americans so unhappy and so nervous.

I feel pressure as a fan. I don't really feel pressure from the fans, if that makes sense. I worked on other movies, like the X-Men movies, that have big fan followings. And if you start to get lost in those voices, you will be completely lost. I feel the pressure of the 6-year-old me.

There's pressure every night to be the best on the court. I put a lot of pressure on myself. Pressure is part of the game. It is also part of life. I want to prove I can do the work and be a success off the court as well as on it.

Most Americans never work as hard as when they're trying to appear normal, and in New Orleans, we just don't bother with that.

Striving is exhausting. Sometimes I do say things like, 'I wish I were not quite this driven to be excellent.' It's not a comfortable life. It's not relaxed. I'm not relaxed as a person. I mean, I'm not unhappy. But... it's the opposite of being comfortable.

For us, the pressure comes from internal matter of having recorded eight records.

Every time I'm practicing, playing or prepping, Majors are always going to be the ones everybody wants to win. But putting the urgency or too much pressure on yourself is not going to do any favors.

The only deadline is the one I give myself.

No man shall be more exacting of me or my conduct than I am of myself.

What I do is what I like; if I'm not as famous as I'd like to be, I've done it to myself.

Integrity is the value we set on ourselves. It is a fulfillment of the duty we owe ourselves. An honorable man or woman will personally commit to live up to certain self-imposed expectations. They need no outside check or control. They are honorable in their inner core.

There is always a bit of pressure to do a good album - to do good work, period. I really put a lot of pressure on myself, more so than other people. But I try not to let that overwhelm me to the point where I can't even do good work. I just put it aside and do the best that I know that I can.

I'm not one to put a lot of pressure on myself.

I feel like I want to and have to do everything once.

Committing to a particular goal publicly puts pressure on oneself. It becomes an enormous action-forcing mechanism and often helps you achieve more than you might have had you kept your goals to yourself.

I'm so genuine about what I do and how I want to do it, and I get anxiety when I'm pressured from the outside.

With 'Atonement,' I put a lot of pressure on myself, and then I made an advert for Chanel, which 'broke the camel's back' emotionally.

The results of your life reflect the standards you've set.

When I am doing music, I sometimes become over compulsive to 'always make some new music'. I think I am like this because I sense what others are perceiving me as. If I work extraordinarily hard because of these expectations, I will, but I just cannot produce the good music that I want.

The best way of me not doing things is to demand it from me.

I was putting myself under enormous pressure to be successful.

I think about the audience in the sense that I serve as my own audience. I have to please myself the way, if I saw the movie in a theater, I would be pleased. Do I think about catering to an audience? No.

I feel like I have to top myself every film I do, and it gets hard.