Debra Granik Quotes

It has gotten worse as I'm becoming more successful. My nerves. Just because there's a bit more pressure, and people are expecting a lot more from me.

I think it's one of the main negative emotional ingredients that fuels show business, because there's so much at stake and the fear of failure looms large.

Writing on assignment, with lots of money handed to you before you even began, got very scary for me. My dread of not being perfect, something I got from a childhood surrounded by powerful, successful people, began to infect everything I wrote.

Show business is, essentially, a fear-based industry.

I think at a club like Liverpool you always feel a bit of pressure. You should. But it doesn't bother me.

I think if you play for Chelsea you have to deal with the pressure, everybody knows the expectations.

Everyone in the Premier League feels pressure to get results. It is part of being a footballer.

I wanted to prove myself on the pitch, but I didn't have many chances, so it put a lot more pressure on every single game that I played. I found myself in situations where I was so keen to show my qualities, but many times it worked against me and I was punished for being too eager.

Sometimes you don't play well or you don't score, and in those times, the pressure comes from all around you as well as from yourself.

People keep asking me if I feel pressure. But I don't feel pressure. I realize there's a lot on my plate, a lot of expectations for me to come in and win and do certain things. But I'm just playing the way I always have.

Pressure comes from fear. If you start thinking about the result or what might happen if you do something, that's the only time there's pressure.

I just can't put the pressure on of winning a championship, winning a championship, because then I'd never be able to sleep.

I've never felt as nervous as I did before a track meet - literally, stomach going crazy - 'cause it was just so difficult.

I can never bring myself to watch Mahesh's films. It's way too stressful for me. All his family members are eager to attend and enjoy the previews of his films like normal people. But I sit at home chewing my nails, praying, wondering if this one will be as big as the previous one, and so on.

My biggest enemy for the longest time was my head. When I first became successful, it made me anxious because I was overthinking everything, and you hear so many 'fail' stories.

I'm always thinking 'Don't mess this up.'

Each one of us requires the spur of insecurity to force us to do our best.

Auditioning is the worst.

Suddenly I was the man who got the part that every actor in the English language was trying to get. I was really scared. I had talked the talk, and now I had to walk the walk. For three days, I couldn't answer the phone.

Even when I had a run of successful prime-time shows, I couldn't sit down and enjoy my success. I would beat myself up and scrutinise everything. I'm a natural-born worrier.

When it comes time to sit down and write the next book, you're deathly afraid that you're not up to the task. That was certainly the case with me after Snow Falling on Cedars.

The one thing you can't do when you're highly ranked is relax.

Before I pitch any game, from spring training to Game 7 of the World Series, I'm scared to death.

Winning a Grand Slam changes everything. There is so much off-court stuff to deal with. And there are expectations of keeping it going that make it tough.

Since I became a favorite in every race, it's just another burden that I have to bear.