Julius Erving Quotes

You'll go down a dark road if you just dwell on every time you screw up. We play a very fickle position. If I make nine kicks out of 10, people are going to talk about the one I missed.

I think if you're in this business, like any high-stakes business, the highs and lows can make you a manic-depressive person, if you weren't that way to start with. 'Cause it's just so crazy on your psyche. A lot of it has to do with people thinking they're greater than someone else.

I've always had a loud mouth, and for that I've gotten a lot of attention. I did falter in some big competitions in my career, but being counted out and not being seen as a threat is something I'm used to.

There's gonna be stretches where I don't play as well. People are gonna be talking bad about me and not always on my side and cheering me on.

When you get bullied, you automatically think that you're the reason why you're getting bullied. The reality is, it's about them, not you... I'm all about blocking people. I'm all about saying, 'You know what, I don't need this in my life.'

The difficulty with any sort of esteem is that more is expected of you.

I generally find that comparison is the fast track to unhappiness. No one ever compares themselves to someone else and comes out even. Nine times out of ten, we compare ourselves to people who are somehow better than us and end up feeling more inadequate.

The terror of failure can make you feel like a failure. So a bunch of people think you're not very good at your thing. How much do you invest in what they say? How much do you care? Failure is not putting yourself on the line.

I took a lot of bad things after Athens. I just learnt to deal with it. The problem was beforehand I had this feeling where I was trying to please everybody - I wanted everybody to like me.

Competitiveness only comes with insecurity.

There are so many people who would like to see me not make it in Nashville. But that's good motivation.

Social media can help or hurt you. People are more into other people's lives than their own. Everyone sees everyone else's success online, and we allow it to magnify our own failure.

I'll always have something to prove.

My whole life, I've felt like I've always had to prove myself. It's never been easy, as easy as others who are in my position have had it.

I feel like I didn't really know how to cope with not playing well.

I think every person is different in coping with pressure; every person thinks differently. For me, sometimes it is difficult because people expect so much of me.

I do feel like young people feel pressured to be extraordinary in a new way. Of course everybody is extraordinary in their own special way... but not everybody has been an activist, or volunteered somewhere incredible, or has perfect scores. So it's a lot of pressure to put on young people.

If I played a bad game, there's gonna be people out there that want to try to bring me down. But I always stay up.

Every time I go on to the court, people expect me to get a medal. It is tough, and I can't win always, but I still have to go out there and give my best.

You have to win football matches, and if you don't, you allow people to criticise you.

The success or failing in one competition doesn't define you, and that is one thing that any sports would teach you.

If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me.

No matter how many people are screaming your name or how many Number One hits you have, you can still wake up and feel like a loser.

The stakes are so high because auditions are make or break. You get the job or you don't. The stakes are about as high as they get, for yourself and your own self-esteem.

Perfectionism doesn't make you feel perfect. It makes you feel inadequate.