Anne Lamott Quotes

I think saying you're bad at something is rather wonderful because then it doesn't matter anymore.

I'd like to just be a little bit more open to making mistakes and not worrying about it so much.

Maybe I don't take myself so seriously any more. And I don't care how I'm judged. I'm past all that.

I'm very free with all my emotions, whether it's happy, sad, mad, glad, whatever.

The fastest way to break the cycle of perfectionism and become a fearless mother is to give up the idea of doing it perfectly - indeed to embrace uncertainty and imperfection.

I make mistakes. I say stupid things. I do idiotic things. And, quite frankly, I'm proud of them. Why not make mistakes?

Once you accept that we're all imperfect, it's the most liberating thing in the world. Then you can go around making mistakes and saying the wrong thing and tripping over on the street and all that and not feel worried.

In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism.

We have been trained to broadcast our successes and hide our failures. But the truth is this: our failures humanise us, and they connect us to one another.

Once I turned 40, I stopped giving a rip about my detractors, the people who say nasty things. It's more candid and honest than it would have been. I share my failures, which is important.

I don't mean to be so sensitive, but that's just who I am. And I'm not afraid to admit it.

I'm alright with being disliked rather than trying to be perfect, because you get to relax then.

Failing is an event, not a person. Yesterday ended last night.

Even though I was painted, even though I had on seven layers of paint - to the point that I got a tan, it was as thick as a fabric - I think I felt the most naked because I couldn't cover myself at all. I didn't have to, so I had to be much more open and relaxed.

There is a comfort in knowing that you don’t have to pretend anymore, that you are going to do everything within your power to heal.

As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all we must dare to fail...Say what you are. Not what you would like to be. Not what you have to be. Just say what you are. And what you are is good enough.

I think comedy I've learned is really just about relaxing and trusting yourself and allowing yourself to fail.

I love the very exposed, humorous, imperfect, never-trying to-pretend-to-be-perfect journey that I have been on in my life.

I've learned you can make a mistake and the whole world doesn't end. I had to learn to allow myself to make a mistake without becoming defensive and unforgiving.

It is so conceited and timid to be ashamed of one's mistakes. Of course they are mistakes. Go on to the next.

I think I'm a bit less inhibited, and not thinking too much before speaking. It's not about being shameful, I'm just a bit more unabashedly myself because of this thing, and it probably started at age 15. I can be around people and say what I think without fear.

I think that my music is really empowering. I just want people to know - especially young people, but really everyone - that you don't have to be so caught up in what everyone else is thinking. You don't have to be the coolest, most popular person. You can just be you and be vulnerable.

Our pain is a part of who we authentically are.

Everybody's a train wreck in their own very special way. But there's something wildly freeing about someone who's unapologetic, who knows they're a wreck and doesn't even try to hide it, just bulldozes through life.

Ten years ago, I still feared loss enough to abandon myself in order to keep things stable. I'd smile when I was sad, pretend to like people who appalled me. What I now know is that losses aren't cataclysmic if they teach the heart and soul their natural cycle of breaking and healing.