Self-Imposed Standards Quotes

Man is rotten with perfection.

When strict with oneself, one rarely fails.

I've always been a guy to put pressure on myself.

I can't remember ever being really bored. I find life very interesting, actually. I think some other musicians are always looking for something to give them an idea, but I find I have to reject 90 percent of my ideas because they don't live up to some self-imposed standard. That's also why I don't make a record once a year. I throw so many things out, and I have to have something to say.

I think, all my life, I've grown up and had high expectations, but that becomes so stressful.

There are no fixed notions on what I should pick up or follow, it has to first appeal to me.

The principles which men give to themselves end by overwhelming their noblest intentions.

We've never really been susceptible to pressure from anyone from the outside. We've been really good at negating any outside influences. We're really hard on ourselves. The filter that we put upon things qualifying to end up on a Tool record is pretty extreme, so we figure we've got that part of it under control.

The only deadline is the one I give myself.

I have lived according to rules that I embrace, but I don't feel like my job is to force others to embrace the rules that I embrace for myself.

I don't think I'm tough in a so called tough way. I'm tough on myself.

If I'm not happy with the quality of something I'm working on, I won't put it out. That does not mean that others won't question the quality.

I'm very severe with myself and sometimes I miss French cheese, but in your world it's not exactly the same thing.

I wish I didn't have to live up to anything.

I don't do well with expectation in my life. All I can do is do the best that I can do.

I'm a perfectionist. I'm very critical, especially artistically.

The biggest pressure is what I put on myself.

I was Little Miss Perfect. That's where all the secrets come in, because you know damn well you are not perfect, but you think your parents want you to be. And so you pretend.

We're putting a lot of pressure on ourselves for this second album and so we want to make it as great as we possibly can.

Letting your customers set your standards is a dangerous game, because the race to the bottom is pretty easy to win. Setting your own standards--and living up to them--is a better way to profit. Not to mention a better way to make your day worth all the effort you put into it." -

We tend to live up to our expectations.

I think the greatest amount of pressure is the pressure I place on myself. So in a way I chose to be alone.

I always feel I need to do well regardless of the level of the band.

I do have high standards, but I don't expect anything from anyone that I don't expect from myself.

Every man makes his own pressure.