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Actors Quote by Emma Thompson

“If you can't fail then how can you possible develop as a communicator or as a creator of anything? We are locked into a deeply unhealthy notion that somehow you've got to succeed all the time. An appalling notion. Any painter or writer will tell you that that is no way to proceed. One of the…” quote by Emma Thompson
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“If you can't fail then how can you possible develop as a communicator or as a creator of anything? We are locked into a deeply unhealthy notion that somehow you've got to succeed all the time. An appalling notion. Any painter or writer will tell you that that is no way to proceed. One of the things that will kill off a decent actor, especially a young actor early on and they will never recover from it, is too much success. It's disastrous. You stop being criticized, therefore you stop challenging yourself. You then can't afford to fail because there's too far to fall.”

Emma Thompson

About This Quote

Source Interview: The Guardian, 2015

Success can stifle growth; constant pressure to win prevents learning from mistakes and hampers creative development.

In simple terms: Too much success blocks learning from failure.

Key Takeaway

Embrace failure to grow.

Themes

creativity growth risk critique

Mood

reflective critical

Type

advisory inspirational

When to use this quote

  • acting
  • writing
  • painting
  • career development
  • personal improvement

Key Concepts

psychology performance learning

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you create safe spaces for failure?
  • What habits can protect against fear of success?
A Different Perspective

Failure is necessary for skill refinement; without it, stagnation occurs.

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