--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think my expectations for myself are…" description: "\"I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You can't work on a film for six years without being your own toughest cr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/ken-burns-9897_direct_i-think-my-expectations-for-myself-are-m_2396929.jpg" --- # I think my expectations for myself are much more severe… ![“I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You can't work on a film for six years without being your own toughest critic. So you can't really be distracted by the expectations based on your previous performance.” quote by Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/ken-burns-9897_direct_i-think-my-expectations-for-myself-are-m_2396929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/ken-burns-9897_direct_i-think-my-expectations-for-myself-are-m_2396929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af0/ken-burns-9897_direct_i-think-my-expectations-for-myself-are-m_2396929.jpg) > “I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You can't work on a film for six years without being your own toughest critic. So you can't really be distracted by the expectations based on your previous performance.” [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑criticism drives improvement; external expectations distract from personal growth. **In simple terms:** Being your own harsh judge helps you improve. Key Takeaway Embrace honest self‑evaluation. Themes self‑improvement creativity expectations Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - film production - artistic development - personal goals - career planning Key Concepts perfectionism self‑assessment focus Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑critique with self‑compassion? - What standards are truly helpful? A Different Perspective Self‑criticism can become paralyzing if unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Distracted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distracted/) [Distracted Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distracted-expectations-5491863/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Expectations Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations-based-258763/) [Expectations Severe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations-severe-5989739/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Severe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/severe/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Think Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-expectations-622079/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“don’t get distracted by your expectations about the results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/don-t-get-distracted-by-your-expectations-about-the-results/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“Setting our living standards and expectations based on the status of others is like wishing that apples were onions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-jacinta-mpalyenkana-ph-d-mba/setting-our-living-standards-and-expectations-based-on-the-status-of/) [Dr. Jacinta Mpalyenkana, Ph.D, MBA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-jacinta-mpalyenkana-ph-d-mba/) > [Expectations are not based on reality. They are observations, expected realities, or beliefs of what you think will happen. Expectations of others stop us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-shetty/expectations-are-not-based-on-reality-they-are-observations-expected/) [Jay Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-shetty/) > [I try not to think about anyone's expectations but rather focus on always doing my personal best. Modeling was never a thought in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anwar-hadid/i-try-not-to-think-about-anyone-s-expectations-but-rather-focus-on/) [Anwar Hadid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anwar-hadid/) > [I think expectations are sometimes dangerous things. I think the only thing you can be sure of is that it won't go to plan.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-think-expectations-are-sometimes-dangerous-things-i-think-the-only/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I think your expectations as a player are always high. No matter how high the expectations are from the outside, from media, from fans,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-yelich/i-think-your-expectations-as-a-player-are-always-high-no-matter-how/) [Christian Yelich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-yelich/) > [I think you have to have your own expectations of yourself and your own sense of purpose and your own intrinsic pleasure in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ruhl/i-think-you-have-to-have-your-own-expectations-of-yourself-and-your/) [Sarah Ruhl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ruhl/) > [I do think once I get into expectations, I've just trained myself. I've just trained myself to just move on to the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-mendes/i-do-think-once-i-get-into-expectations-i-ve-just-trained-myself-i-ve/) [Eva Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-mendes/) > [I think expectations of 'Doctor Who' should always be high, because it's a show that must always progress and get better and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/i-think-expectations-of-doctor-who-should-always-be-high-because-it-s/) [Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/) > [I think expectations might be preceding reality, ... In the long run we've got some real opportunity here, but we've come a long way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-davies/i-think-expectations-might-be-preceding-reality-in-the-long-run-we-ve/) [Michael Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-davies/) > [With each game's release, I think the expectations get higher and higher for the next, and rightfully so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cawthon/with-each-game-s-release-i-think-the-expectations-get-higher-and/) [Scott Cawthon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cawthon/) > [I think expectations are a good thing. As a player, you should embrace them and not shy away from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-yelich/i-think-expectations-are-a-good-thing-as-a-player-you-should-embrace/) [Christian Yelich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-yelich/) > [The weird thing about metal fans is we're all so maladjusted in a lot of ways. We're individualistic and opinionated and severe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/the-weird-thing-about-metal-fans-is-we-re-all-so-maladjusted-in-a-lot/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) [Jim Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-wright/) ## More by Ken Burns > [Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/good-history-is-a-question-of-survival-without-any-past-we-will/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [Write: write letters. Keep journals. Besides your children, there is no surer way of achieving immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/write-write-letters-keep-journals-besides-your-children-there-is-no/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of Jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/by-its-very-nature-no-one-person-can-ever-be-the-center-of-jazz/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution to the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/the-genius-of-our-country-is-improvisation-and-jazz-reflects-that-it/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [The reason why you do history, and particularly why you do war, is that you want to make sure that in the next war,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/the-reason-why-you-do-history-and-particularly-why-you-do-war-is-that/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [In a sense I've made the same film over and over again. In all of them I've asked, 'Who are we as Americans?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/in-a-sense-i-ve-made-the-same-film-over-and-over-again-in-all-of-them/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're lead to is a life not fully lived.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-think-we-too-often-make-choices-based-on-the-safety-of-cynicism-and/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th century music (I did not say jazz) what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/louis-armstrong-is-quite-simply-the-most-important-person-in-american/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [People tend to forget that the word "history" contains the word "story".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/people-tend-to-forget-that-the-word-history-contains-the-word-story/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/history-isn-t-really-about-the-past-settling-old-scores-it-s-about/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [We strain to listen to the ghosts and echoes of our inexpressibly wise past, and we have an obligation to maintain these places, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/we-strain-to-listen-to-the-ghosts-and-echoes-of-our-inexpressibly/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [It follows the seasons, beginning each year with the fond expectancy of springtime and ending with the hard facts of autumn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/it-follows-the-seasons-beginning-each-year-with-the-fond-expectancy/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [“Jackie Robinson stole home and he's safe."...Nobody could hurt him again. He wouldn't hear the name-calling. He would only hear the cheers and somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/jackie-robinson-stole-home-and-he-s-safe-nobody-could-hurt-him-again/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with all of their equipment and the incredible amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-can-understand-why-some-of-these-drummers-and-bass-players-become/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come across a Buck O'Neill and you know you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/you-know-you-meet-some-people-and-do-a-lot-of-interviews-and-you-come/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) [Explore all 69 Ken Burns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) ## More Direct quotes > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-know-the-fundamentals/) [John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/) > [The method of magnitude estimation provided a direct measure of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-smith-stevens/the-method-of-magnitude-estimation-provided-a-direct-measure-of/) [Stanley Smith Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-smith-stevens/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [I'm currently trying to direct my own material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-skerritt/i-m-currently-trying-to-direct-my-own-material/) [Tom Skerritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-skerritt/) > [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/) [Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [I'm too direct and too unsparingly impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-m-too-direct-and-too-unsparingly-impatient/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. 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Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) [Browse all 3,391 Direct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think my expectations for myself are much more severe and much more direct. You can't work on a film for six years without being your own toughest critic. 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