--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel…" description: "\"I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or whatever. In the abstract, I know I'm a good person, a good professional. But it's nice to be no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/jack-nicholson-1283_abstract_i-m-such-a-perfectionist-i-always-feel-o_50634.jpg" --- # I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or… ![“I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or whatever. In the abstract, I know I'm a good person, a good professional. But it's nice to be noticed a little bit, ain't it?” quote by Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/jack-nicholson-1283_abstract_i-m-such-a-perfectionist-i-always-feel-o_50634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/jack-nicholson-1283_abstract_i-m-such-a-perfectionist-i-always-feel-o_50634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/jack-nicholson-1283_abstract_i-m-such-a-perfectionist-i-always-feel-o_50634.jpg) > “I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or whatever. In the abstract, I know I'm a good person, a good professional. But it's nice to be noticed a little bit, ain't it?” [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges a tendency toward perfectionism, feeling undeserving of praise, yet craves recognition for their inherent worth and professional competence. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism clashes with desire for acknowledgment. Key Takeaway Even high achievers need validation. Themes self-awareness validation perfectionism self-esteem professional identity Mood reflective hopeful vulnerable Type personal motivational When to use this quote - receiving a promotion - public commendation - team meeting feedback Key Concepts impostor syndrome recognition self-worth Practical Applications - coaching on confidence - team recognition programs Questions to Reflect On - How does seeking praise affect your performance? - What strategies help balance humility and self‑affirmation? A Different Perspective Excessive focus on external validation can undermine intrinsic motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Good person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-person/) [Perfectionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfectionist/) ## Related quotes > [Every time, all the time, I'm a perfectionist. I feel I should never lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-evert/every-time-all-the-time-i-m-a-perfectionist-i-feel-i-should-never-lose/) [Chris Evert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-evert/) > [I'm a perfectionist, so I always feel there's room for improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludacris/i-m-a-perfectionist-so-i-always-feel-there-s-room-for-improvement/) [Ludacris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludacris/) > [ ~\[My daughter is\] very artistic, but she's also a perfectionist. I feel a little bad: That's the part I see in her that's like… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courteney-cox/my-daughter-is-very-artistic-but-she-s-also-a-perfectionist-i-feel-a/) [Courteney Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courteney-cox/) > [He was a top man and a good professional. He was one of those who you know will never play a trick and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-boycott/he-was-a-top-man-and-a-good-professional-he-was-one-of-those-who-you/) [Geoffrey Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-boycott/) > [I feel good about my first professional fight. I was ready for it, and it was a good win for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-parker/i-feel-good-about-my-first-professional-fight-i-was-ready-for-it-and/) [Joseph Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-parker/) > [Like people say, it's very hard for a good professional to retire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanderlei-silva/like-people-say-it-s-very-hard-for-a-good-professional-to-retire/) [Wanderlei Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanderlei-silva/) > [Just because you are a good amateur, it doesn't mean you're going to be a good professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-degale/just-because-you-are-a-good-amateur-it-doesn-t-mean-you-re-going-to/) [James DeGale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-degale/) > [I want to be remembered one day as a great player, good athlete and a good professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-jones/i-want-to-be-remembered-one-day-as-a-great-player-good-athlete-and-a/) [Phil Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-jones/) > [I am a good professional and I keep fighting for what I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demba-ba/i-am-a-good-professional-and-i-keep-fighting-for-what-i-have/) [Demba Ba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demba-ba/) > [Benitez is a very good professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepe/benitez-is-a-very-good-professional/) [Pepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepe/) > [I love football and played when I was a little kid. I was good but I'm not sure I was good enough to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcos-maidana/i-love-football-and-played-when-i-was-a-little-kid-i-was-good-but-i-m/) [Marcos Maidana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcos-maidana/) > [I know I'm a good professional, I know that no one's harder on me than myself and that's never going to change, under any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristiano-ronaldo/i-know-i-m-a-good-professional-i-know-that-no-one-s-harder-on-me-than/) [Cristiano Ronaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristiano-ronaldo/) > [Being your own person and standing for what you believe is a critical aspect of a good professional life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-pichette/being-your-own-person-and-standing-for-what-you-believe-is-a-critical/) [Patrick Pichette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-pichette/) > [When you are 21 years old, and you work as a good professional, you must improve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-pellegrini/when-you-are-21-years-old-and-you-work-as-a-good-professional-you/) [Manuel Pellegrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-pellegrini/) > [I like to work with really good professional people - anyone with real talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/i-like-to-work-with-really-good-professional-people-anyone-with-real/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) ## More by Jack Nicholson > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Women are sort of like motorcycle gangs with me. They get really shy and polite. I don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/women-are-sort-of-like-motorcycle-gangs-with-me-they-get-really-shy/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I love writing, but I stopped because I felt I was more effective approaching filmmaking from a different vantage point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-love-writing-but-i-stopped-because-i-felt-i-was-more-effective/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've been too many places. I'm like the bad penny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-ve-been-too-many-places-i-m-like-the-bad-penny/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I don't play golf competitively. I tell everybody that I cheat so they won't gamble with me. That's why you can't watch football. Everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-don-t-play-golf-competitively-i-tell-everybody-that-i-cheat-so-they/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Men dominate because of physicality, and thus they have mercy where women do not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/men-dominate-because-of-physicality-and-thus-they-have-mercy-where/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I think it's good if a man gives a woman some time to herself because I think we all need that and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-think-it-s-good-if-a-man-gives-a-woman-some-time-to-herself-because/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The most difficult thing about being well known? Getting out of a hotel room at 4am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-most-difficult-thing-about-being-well-known-getting-out-of-a/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [ He \[Castro\] is a genius. We spoke about everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/he-castro-is-a-genius-we-spoke-about-everything/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've always had an urge to feed my need to have fun and feel free. I don't see any interesting alternatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-ve-always-had-an-urge-to-feed-my-need-to-have-fun-and-feel-free-i/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Take caution in your tone, commander. I'm a fair man, but this -- heat is making me absolutely crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/take-caution-in-your-tone-commander-i-m-a-fair-man-but-this-heat-is/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The stage has a certain discipline. But the ultimate standard is more exacting in film, because you have to see yourself and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-stage-has-a-certain-discipline-but-the-ultimate-standard-is-more/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Comedy is much harder, it's a lot more exacting. You can't just be real and you can't just use the same kind of techniques…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/comedy-is-much-harder-it-s-a-lot-more-exacting-you-can-t-just-be-real/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I'd prefer if people had no impressions of me. As a kid, I had to tell my own family, "Please, just don't talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-d-prefer-if-people-had-no-impressions-of-me-as-a-kid-i-had-to-tell/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) [Explore all 261 Jack Nicholson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## More Abstract quotes > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom is the abstract of the past, but beauty is the promise of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wisdom-is-the-abstract-of-the-past-but-beauty-is-the-promise-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [A little too abstract, a little too wise, It is time for us to kiss the earth again, It is time to let the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/a-little-too-abstract-a-little-too-wise-it-is-time-for-us-to-kiss-the/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [“Happy is very abstract, you can't touch it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-veal/happy-is-very-abstract-you-can-t-touch-it/) [Julius Veal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-veal/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The more horrible this world (as today, for instance), the more abstract our art, whereas a happy world brings forth an art of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-more-horrible-this-world-as-today-for-instance-the-more-abstract/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [Describing comic sensibility is near impossible. It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. Some or all of these elements move,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-calder/a-mobile-is-an-abstract-sculpture-made-chiefly-out-of-sheet-metal/) [Alexander Calder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-calder/) > [I'm this superphilosophical kind of person. Stuck in a prison of abstract ideas and overpowering emotions, I have this personality that makes it really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/i-m-this-superphilosophical-kind-of-person-stuck-in-a-prison-of/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web of arrangements, rooted in history but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/future-lawyers-should-be-more-aware-that-law-is-not-a-system-of/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [The trouble is that when you read criticisms about the other films that I've made you get the impression that they're all about themes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/the-trouble-is-that-when-you-read-criticisms-about-the-other-films/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [Painting is... a richer language than words... Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or whatever. In the abstract, I know I'm a good person, a good professional. 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