Prove Myself Quotes

I don't feel like there should have been three backs taken ahead of me. And I'll always feel that way. But there's only one draft, and I can't change it. All I can do is go out and prove myself. ~ Clinton Portis

My philosophy in life ... is to prove myself to myself and not to others. I tried to teach my children that, that I have to respect myself, to prove to myself that I can do the best I can. ~ Columba Bush

I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong. ~ Michael Palin

But nowadays I feel guilty that I am granted the immunity of the artistically gifted, having never actually achieved anything to prove myself worthy. ~ Sara Baume

No one's calling me for lawyer roles. I still have a lot to do to prove myself. ~ Channing Tatum

I was now in a situation where I didn't have to prove myself, because the one person that fully accepted me, my best friend, was now a permanent fixture in my life. ~ Jamie McGuire

I can sort of do what I want. Maybe I have to work harder to prove myself in some new relationship because they've heard some wacky stories about me. But at least I can get the meeting. ~ Sean Parker

With all the media attention, all the love from the fans, I felt I needed to prove myself. Prove that I'm not a marketing tool, I'm not a ploy to improve attendance. Prove I can play in this league. But I've surrendered that to God. I'm not in a battle with what everybody else thinks anymore. ~ Jeremy Lin

I have to prove myself to everybody. ~ Elizabeth Warren

I do not compete with anybody else; I compete only with myself. You saw my capacity a few minutes ago. Now I am competing with myself. When I do weightlifting, my body is my world. If I can improve myself, if I can go beyond my previous achievements, then that is my goal. My own previous record is always what I am competing with. ~ Sri Chinmoy

The same thing as you, the same as she. The same as anyone who has ever been doubted or told to go away. To prove myself better. ~ Matthew Pearl

Even if someone is competent, it's so damned easy to crucify him as long as he's only working on his father's account. So at the beginning I certainly wanted to prove myself to my father and the rest of society. That quickly turned into a greater challenge. My lifestyle hasn't changed as a result. ~ Stelios Haji-Ioannou

You can only enter the Otherworld by invitation, self-worth or sacrifice. Or by standing beneath a double-rainbow with a belly full of cold, cold sapphires. And I have not seen a double-rainbow in five hundred years. And I know you have no invitation, for your name is on no list. The way you seek before me now is the way of self-worth, and that you have not earned."
"There are demons inside the Otherworld. Flesh-eating bhuts and wraiths the size of whole countries and you're telling me that I have to prove myself to join them?"
"I never said it had to be good self-worth. You could slay a million children. Maybe then you could come. But in your current state, your soul cannot handle the Otherworld. ~ Roshani Chokshi

From tattered flags and uniforms to friendships strained to the brink, the women of my country had always been the menders to all the things torn asunder. But now we'd do more than patch with needle and thread. We'd have to weave together a whole tapestry of American life with nothing but our own hands, our own crops, and our own ingenuity. And I would prove myself able to the task. There ~ Stephanie Dray

I once wanted to prove myself by being a great actress. Now I want to prove that I'm a person. Then maybe I'll be a great actress. ~ Marilyn Monroe

I always had to prove myself through my actions. Be a cheerleader. Be class president. Be the editor of the newspaper. ~ Halle Berry

Switch from a Performance Focus to a Mastery Focus

There's a way to keep your standards high but avoid the problems that come from perfectionism. If you can shift your thinking from a performance focus to a mastery focus, you'll become less fearful, more resilient, and more open to good, new ideas. Performance focus is when your highest priority is to show you can do something well now. Mastery focus is when you're mostly concerned with advancing your skills. Someone with a mastery focus will think, "My goal is to master this skill set" rather than "I need to perform well to prove myself."
A mastery focus can help you persist after setbacks. To illustrate this, imagine the following scenario: Adam is trying to master the art of public speaking. Due to his mastery goal, he's likely to take as many opportunities as he can to practice giving speeches. When he has setbacks, he'll be motivated to try to understand these and get back on track. His mastery focus will make him more likely to work steadily toward his goal. Compare this with performance-focused Rob, who is concerned just with proving his competence each time he gives a talk. Rob will probably take fewer risks in his style of presentation and be less willing to step outside his comfort zone. If he has an incident in which a talk doesn't go as well as he'd hoped, he's likely to start avoiding public speaking opportunities.
Mastery goals will help you become less upset about individual instances of fa ~ Alice Boyes

I need not print a line, nor conjure with the painter's tools to prove myself an artist ... Whilst in other spheres of labor the greater part of our life's toil and moil will of a surety end, as the wise man predicted, in vanity and vexation of spirit, here is instant physical refreshment in the work the garden entails, and, in the end, our labor will be crowned with flowers. ~ J. D. Sedding

As a working-class actor, leaving school with no qualifications, being a printer and then becoming an actor and then working with people who to a certain extent had had a leg up. I never had that advantage. It's less an artistic need to express myself and more a need to prove myself. ~ Eddie Marsan

I'll fight dragons, just like any knight for his lady. I'll prove myself. You'll be proud of me. ~ L.J.Smith

I was a starter and did some good things there, and then I got a chance to prove myself as a closer. Because of that opportunity, I was blessed with the honor of being elected to the Hall of Fame. ~ Dennis Eckersley

I didn't feel a specific pressure to prove myself because I had an actor in the family. I didn't feel that pressure to fill some big shoes or anything. ~ Katherine Waterston

As I slowly managed to take what I had learned into a transition from contestant to announcer and warm-up, I first had to prove myself on pilots. And as you know, many pilots are taped for each show that is lucky enough to breakthrough to being a series. ~ Randy West

The idea of being given things that you don't necessarily deserve was always a difficult one for me to negotiate, and so I really always felt that I had to prove myself. Being the daughter of a famous man I guess is more easy than being the daughter of a famous woman, but at the same time there was a sense of really, with me, of wanting to earn my own way. ~ Anjelica Huston

I am really focused on how I can improve myself and the world around me. ~ Rachel Roy

I've been in a hurry all my life. I've been in a hurry to succeed, and in a hurry to prove myself. ~ Henry Kravis

Always do what you're afraid to do.
...
I will prove myself strong when they think I am sick.
I will prove myself brave when they think I am weak. ~ E. Lockhart

Give me a rose, that I may press its thorns, and prove myself awake by the sharp touch of pain! ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

I don't miss my father, but without his shackles to strain against, the world is terrifying and vast. I have lost a kind of purpose, a reason to prove myself. ~ Chris Offutt

I'm asking you to give me a chance, however slim, to prove myself."
My throat tightened. "Cade ... I'm not a science experiment."
"Good to know, but I rocked biology. Lab was my favorite," he teased.
"I'm serious."
"So am I. ~ Beth Mikell

What's the difference between people who feel successful and people who feel they've failed? The answer is mindset: If you learn and grow from failure, suddenly it becomes a personal asset. People who are successful don't want instant gratification. They don't think about hitting a point of success and never working again. Instead they ask, How do I improve myself and continue to do that consistently over time? ~ Eben Pagan

I thought that by twenty-eight I could stop trying to prove myself and relax already. But this fight just gets bloodier with age. ~ Jessica Knoll

But nothing will persuade me that the mere fact of being in a place is enough in itself to justify the effort of getting out of bed to become a tourist, or even a traveller. I don't have the slightest wish to be intrepid. I don't want to prove myself to myself or anyone else. I don't care if no one thinks me brave or hardy. I have no concern at all that I did not have whatever it is I should have had to take a dive out of a plane or off a building. None of that matters to me in the least. ~ Jenny Diski

I'm constantly trying to make myself better, to learn more. I didn't finish college, so I feel like I'm always having to prove myself. I don't want to feel like the smallest person in the room. ~ Nina Dobrev

Some people have theorized that I lurched to prove myself intellectually. But it was not any lurch. It was more a kind of awakening. ~ Jack Kemp

I have to prove myself in a lot of ways - as an actor, as a person, as someone who can handle pressure. ~ Sam Claflin

I've always been the guy that loved being scared or loved having pressure on me, because I always wanted to prove myself wrong and always wanted to prove that I could do it. ~ Alex Pettyfer

I feel like my whole life, I've had to prove myself to so many people because I'm young and because I'm a female; it's just constant. I'm always surprising people. ~ Alessia Cara

I want to prove myself. I don't even know what I can do, because no one's let me try. ~ Kit Rocha

It's my whole life of being the little guy and having a little chip on my shoulder, from year to year trying to prove myself, and at the end of the day to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame is a very special honor for me. ~ Doug Flutie

I loved fighting ... It gave me the opportunity to prove myself, to stand up and say, 'I'm the best. I matter. I am.' ~ Joe Frazier

'Marvin Gaye' came about my first day in L.A. It was kind of crazy that that's my first song that I wrote and it blew up that much. What's crazy is the next day I wrote 'See You Again,' so that's pretty interesting. I was trying to prove myself as a songwriter. ~ Charlie Puth

Oh, I long to prove myself by writing! The best seems to die in me when I give it up. It is the self I love
not this efficient, philanthropic self. ~ Ruth Benedict

I am ready to fight according to the rules, and I ask for the opportunity to prove myself. ~ Yingluck Shinawatra

The night Junior stayed, my right to myself was taken from me in a way that had felt more final than ever before. Then the school had denied my rape - my word. The subsequent silencing and exile - misplaced shame - were the catalysts for me to finally break free of my mother's grasp and my voicelessness and do what I truly wanted, alone. I wished to prove myself as independent and valid and strong - to my mother, and to the world. I'd believed I had needed something huge and external that no one could deny was impressive, so I could show my family I was able - so they could finally know that I was strong.

Instead I had shown myself.

And it felt wonderful. ~ Aspen Matis

For me personally, I just try to prove myself in my work. I'm just trying to get better at what I do, and hopefully that will impact women in music, and hopefully the girls in the crowd will see my up there as a bandleader and think, 'Wow, maybe I can do that one day.' ~ Jenny Lewis

Everyday that goes by I try to improve myself and searching for something that may even be impossible; perfection. ~ Anderson Silva

I'm very competitive and if I'm not in the weight room than someone is getting better than me. I just have to stay in there and prove myself any way that I can. ~ Justin Cole

perhaps that's what it's for – self-confidence and courage and energy and peace – perhaps it's to be used in the world. Perhaps there's only one thing to do with it: spend it.

I'm always super-conscious of how whenever I go out into the world, whenever I get involved in a relationship, my idea of who I think I am utterly collides with the reality of who I actually am. And I continue to go out even though who I am always comes up short. I always prove myself to be less generous, less charming, less considerate, not as bold or energetic or intelligent or courageous as I imagined in my solitude. And I'm always being insulted, or snubbed, or disappointed. And I'm never in my pyjamas.

And yet, in some way, maybe this is better. Each of us in this room could suffer the pangs of withdrawal and gain the serenity of the non-smoker. We could be demi-gods in our little castles, all alone, but perhaps, at heart, none of us here wants that. Maybe the only cure for self-confidence and courage is humility. Maybe we go out in order to fall short... because we want to learn how to be good at being people... and moreover, because we want to be people. ~ Sheila Heti

Despising cowardice in others, I wished to prove myself no coward. Believing in the good, the gentle, the beautiful things of life, I addressed myself to the sweet duty of keeping these attributes for my children's sake and my own. And in striving to provide a living for them, I found a success beyond my wildest dreams. ~ Alice Foote MacDougall

I would love to do comedy. I think I'm funny and that comedy is my strong suit, at least in real life. I have yet to prove myself in the movies, but I'd love to get the opportunity to do that. ~ Evan Peters

Listen, it's not nice to have your mum kill herself, that is difficult. But at the end of the day, it happened a long time ago. My mother was, I hope, not the reason that I have been successful. It's not as simplistic as 'My mum killed herself; I've got to prove myself.' I was very lucky that my parents took an interest in me. ~ Stuart Rose

I wanted to work hard. I wanted to prove myself somehow worthy of the good things I had known. ~ Bear Grylls

Every time I dance, I'm trying to prove myself to myself. ~ Misty Copeland

I had to prove myself to a lot of different people. ~ Gerard Butler

I want to prove myself, but not to impress others. I want to challenge myself, but not to struggle. I want to matter, but not to feel superior. I have passion, not by degree or benefits, but by spirit. A man's words of wisdom isn't by his tongue, but his heart. A woman's love isn't from comfort, but by her integrity. No one is equal, but that's okay. Being different is our purpose of freewill. We create strength from our journey, not our muscles. I want to be better. Because it doesn't make me stronger, it makes me superhuman. ~ Niklaus Vestalla

I remember promising myself that should I live I would prove myself deserving of life. ~ Terry Fox

The distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you. That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don't improve myself and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant. ~ Indra Nooyi

I've always felt I had to prove myself, and now it has become second nature. When I first went to university, I took lodgings with a woman who said, 'What are the chances of you staining my pans?' I said, 'I don't think I understand the question ... ' and she said, 'When you cook your curries.' ~ Sanjeev Bhaskar

It would be nice to not have to prove myself and for people to know that I'm good and can play a role. Whatever role that is that lets people know that I can play the next role is what I want to do. ~ Madeline Zima

I am tired of having to prove myself constantly, even after being hired. Every single day, every single idea, I need to prove myself. I am tired of it! ~ Patricia Riggen

I have to prove myself five times over. ~ Eleanor Mondale

I always felt like I had to prove myself as a child, probably because other kids teased me about being a 'faggot. ~ Dean H. Hamer

In answer to modern requests for signs and wonders, Our Lord might say, 'You repeat Satan's temptation, whenever you admire the wonders of science, and forget that I am the Author of the Universe and its science. Your scientists are the proofreaders, but not the authors of the Book of Nature; they can see and examine My handiwork, but they cannot create one atom themselves. You would tempt Me to prove Myself omnipotent by meaningless tests...You tempt Me after you have willfully destroyed your own cities with bombs by shrieking out, "Why does God not stop this war?" You tempt Me, saying that I have no power, unless I show it at your beck and call. This, if you remember, is exactly how Satan tempted Me in the desert.

I have never had many followers on the lofty heights of Divine truth, I know; for instance, I have hardly had the intelligentsia. I refuse to perform stunts to win them, for they would not really be won that way. It is only when I am seen on the Cross that I really draw men to Myself; it is by sacrifice, and not by marvels, that I must make My appeal. I must win followers not with test tubes, but with My blood; not with material power, but with love; not with celestial fireworks, but with the right use of reason and free will. ~ Fulton J. Sheen

In the beginning, I was frightened to death of going solo. Especially when doing live shows, I was so used to my brothers being next to me. It felt like the crowd was just looking at me, waiting for me to either mess up or prove myself. ~ Charlie Wilson

On the flip side, no one has any idea who the hell I am. I felt like I had to prove myself to them. On any new project I'm working on, the first week is nerve-wracking, but especially with these people that I admire so much and who I just want to be equal with. ~ Dave Franco

We study the glory of God, and the honour and liberty of parliament, for which we unanimously fight, without seeking our own interests ... I profess I could never satisfy myself on the justness of this war, but from the authority of the parliament to maintain itself in its rights; and in this cause I hope to prove myself an honest man and single-hearted. ~ Oliver Cromwell

I don't feel the need to prove myself by writing the next generational novel. ~ Camilla Lackberg

I started off thinking that I just needed one shot to prove myself, but then I realised that I was only going to learn about acting by doing it. ~ Oscar Isaac

I always feel like I have to prove myself as an actor, otherwise you get lazy if you're not slightly terrified that you're going to fail all the time. ~ Scarlett Johansson

I felt like I had to prove myself, but I feel that you have to do that anyway, as an actor. You're there to do a job, and that's your primary concern. ~ Giles Matthey

I love to be pushed so I can prove myself, because once again, I will. ~ Kid Rock

The more conscious of God's presence the more I feel like being myself, the less conscious of His presence, the more I feel I need to prove myself. ~ R.T. Kendall

I thought I had to prove myself with money and accomplishments. But those will always ring hollow. They will never be enough. I want to be somebody. Let me be your husband. Let me be the father of your child -of all your children. ~ Courtney Milan

My time is far too valuable for me to spend any of it trying to improve myself. ~ Ashleigh Brilliant

God hadn't drawn me into the wilderness so I could attempt to prove myself to Him with religious activity (instead of the more secular activities I indulge in to prove myself to everyone else). He hadn't brought me away from the hustle and noise so I could demonstrate my spirituality to Him. He brought me out to allure me. He didn't want my performance, He wanted my attention. ~ Jonathan Martin

The way you seek before me now is the way of self-worth, and that you have not earned."
"There are demons inside the Otherworld. Flesh-eating bhuts and wraiths the size of whole countries and you're telling me that I have to prove myself to join them?"
"I never said it had to be good self-worth. ~ Roshani Chokshi

Bellona has answered my prayer. She doesn't fight my battles for me. She doesn't guarantee me easy victory. She grants me opportunities to prove myself. She gives me strong enemies and potential allies. ~ Rick Riordan

I wanted to prove myself worthy of the girl I loved. I wanted to be able to return and lay not only my heart, but the world, at her feet. ~ Teresa Medeiros

People always assume that things are just handed to me, but I've had to prove myself, every inch of the way. ~ Madeline Zima

Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain. ~ Fidelis Of Sigmaringen

I realize that as the quarterback, you have to assume some sort of leadership role because you have to talk in the huddle on every play, and you're essentially giving out orders to the team. But in my mind, I have to prove myself on the field before I can start asserting a leadership role. ~ Andrew Luck

I will prove myself strong when they think I am sick. I will prove myself brave when they think I am weak -Cady Sinclair ~ E. Lockhart

Cleverness, after all, has its limitations. Its mechanical judgments and clever remarks tend to prove inaccurate with passing time, because it doesn't look very deeply into things to begin with ~ Benjamin Hoff

So many New Zealanders don't seem to see themselves as New Zealanders. They see themselves as either Maori or European New Zealanders, and these are the principle ethnicity boxes on most forms you fill in. It seems to make no difference that the European and Maori blood lines are so mixed now as to be inseparable. If you can prove any Maori blood then you are entitled to a cut of the Treaty payouts, special voting rights and increased rights to certain natural resources. There's even a Maori political party which, in its very existence, is surely an indictment on the depth of racism through all levels of society. Is it any surprise that there is resentment and racism in parts of the community towards Maori? ~ Alex Richards

You don't have to prove yourself to me. You don't even have to prove yourself to you. ~ Susan Atkins

But hope, like heroes, can prove hard to kill. ~ Neil Gaiman

Science can prove nothing about God, because God lies outside its province. ~ Huston Smith

You know, it's not fair. Women are judged inferior until we prove ourselves, and men are judged superior until they prove what assholes they are. ~ Sidney Sheldon

Another one of President Barack Obama's nominees is having tax issues, which proves one thing: The Democrats like raising the taxes, but they hate paying them. ~ Craig Ferguson

She made me her everything. She didn't realize then that when you make someone your everything, when they are gone you have nothing left. I have since learned that our Master sends us soul mates who teach us to depend on them and then we come to believe we cannot live without them. Then He takes them away to prove to us that we can indeed live without them, but also to prove that we cannot live without Him. ~ Kate McGahan

If fallacies come knocking at my door,I'd rather feed, and shelter full a score,Than hide behind the black portcullis, doubt,And run the risk of barring one Truth out.And if pretension for a time deceive,And prove me one too ready to believe,Far less my shame, than if by stubborn act,I brand as lie, some great colossal Fact. ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

When God is here spoken of as hardening some of the children of men, it is not to be understood that God by any positive efficiency hardens any man's heart. There is no positive act in God, as though he put forth any power to harden the heart. To suppose any such thing would be to make God the immediate author of sin. God is said to harden men in two ways: by withholding the powerful influences of his Spirit, without which their hearts will remain hardened, and grow harder and harder; in this sense he hardens them, as he leaves them to hardness. And again, by ordering those things in his providence which, through the abuse of their corruption, become the occasion of their hardening. Thus God sends his word and ordinances to men which, by their abuse, prove an occasion of their hardening. ~ Jonathan Edwards

When they reached the table, Hannah started to introduce them. "Layla, this is Joe. Joe, this is - "

"We've already met," said Joseph, extending his hand and smiling.

"Have we?" asked Layla, baffled.

"Have you?" said Hannah. This was news to her.

"Yeah, we have," continued Joseph. "A couple of hours ago. On the road into the village. You tried to kill me, remember?"

"Kill you?" gasped Layla. "You're the biker? The one I knocked over?"

"You knocked him over?" repeated Hannah in horror.

"I didn't mean to," explained Layla quickly. "It was an accident. I was going to tell you about it. I just haven't had the chance yet."

Turning to Joseph, Hannah asked, "Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?"

"Well," he replied somberly, "apart from my right arm, which I'm not sure is going to be of much use to me ever again, I'm fine."

As Layla's jaw dropped open, he added quickly, "I'm joking. Really, it's just a joke. I'm fine."

"Right, well, in that case," Hannah continued, "as I was saying, Layla, this is Joseph Scott. Joe, this is Layla Lewis, your would-be killer, next door neighbor, and my best friend. She's house-sitting whilst Lenny's in Scotland."

"Next door neighbor, huh?" replied Joseph, taking a swig from his pint glass. "That could prove interesting. ~ Shani Struthers

…I have never understood the concept of infatuation. It has always been my understanding that being 'infatuated' with someone means you think you are in love, but you're actually not; infatuation is (supposedly) just a foolish, fleeting feeling. But if being 'in love' is an abstract notion, and it's not tangible, and there is no way to physically prove it to anyone else… well, how is being in love any different than having an infatuation? They're both human constructions. If you think you're in love with someone and you feel like you're in love with someone, then you obviously are; thinking and feeling is the sum total of what love is. Why do we feel an obligation to certify emotions with some kind of retrospective, self-imposed authenticity? ~ Chuck Klosterman

Music is the art of all the invisible things that are real. Art, emotion, spiritual essence, consciousness - these things are hard to prove. Music helps you to focus on your sound. We understand that for very young kids. ~ Wynton Marsalis

The secret of all success is to know how to deny yourself. Prove that you can control yourself, and you are an educated man; and without this all other education is good for nothing. ~ Roswell Dwight Hitchcock

Now back East you can be middling and get along. But if you go to try a thing on in this Western country, you've got to do it WELL. You've got to deal cyards WELL; you've got to steal WELL; and if you claim to be quick with your gun, you must be quick, for you're a public temptation, and some man will not resist trying to prove he is the quicker. You must break all the Commandments WELL in this Western country ~ Owen Wister

Every decade archaeologists discover another few forgotten scripts. Some of them might prove to be even older than the Sumerian scratches in clay. But most of them remain curiosities because those who invented them failed to invent efficient ways of cataloguing and retrieving data. What set apart Sumer, as well as pharaonic Egypt, ancient China and the Inca Empire, is that these cultures developed good techniques of archiving, cataloguing and retrieving written records. ~ Yuval Noah Harari

Love isn't the words you use to say it, but the actions you take to prove it's true. ~ Adriana Locke