--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I go into every story thinking I'm going…" description: "\"I go into every story thinking I'm going to fail. I think about that all the time - I think it's going to be terrible. Every story is like the first I'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mary-ellen-mark-8293_done_i-go-into-every-story-thinking-i-m-going_2334137.png" --- # I go into every story thinking I'm going to fail. I think… ![“I go into every story thinking I'm going to fail. I think about that all the time - I think it's going to be terrible. Every story is like the first I've ever done.” quote by Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mary-ellen-mark-8293_done_i-go-into-every-story-thinking-i-m-going_2334137.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mary-ellen-mark-8293_done_i-go-into-every-story-thinking-i-m-going_2334137.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f8/mary-ellen-mark-8293_done_i-go-into-every-story-thinking-i-m-going_2334137.png) > “I go into every story thinking I'm going to fail. I think about that all the time - I think it's going to be terrible. Every story is like the first I've ever done.” [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She expresses chronic self-doubt, treating each new story as a daunting, potentially terrible endeavor. **In simple terms:** She feels anxious about new creative work. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and practice resilience. Themes creativity self-doubt growth art performance Mood anxious inspired Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - starting new projects - artistic endeavors - public speaking Key Concepts psychology risk taking learning mindset Questions to Reflect On - What rituals calm your creative anxiety? - How can you reframe fear as motivation? A Different Perspective Self-doubt can paralyze progress if unaddressed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [A "take" is an opportunity to fail ... and we think that we have to get it right all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-hoffman/a-take-is-an-opportunity-to-fail-and-we-think-that-we-have-to-get-it/) [Dustin Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-hoffman/) > [If you know you are going to fail, then fail gloriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/if-you-know-you-are-going-to-fail-then-fail-gloriously/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [The minute you start calculating and trying to figure out what a huge audience is going to think, you're going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-duffer/the-minute-you-start-calculating-and-trying-to-figure-out-what-a-huge/) [Ross Duffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-duffer/) > [My mantra is: Realize you're going to fail all the time, and accept it. 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You have to be okay knowing you're going to fail every day in something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-o-brien/you-have-to-be-able-to-be-a-good-loser-you-have-to-be-okay-knowing/) [Dan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-o-brien/) > [We all have to decide how we are going to fail, by not going far enough or by going too far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/we-all-have-to-decide-how-we-are-going-to-fail-by-not-going-far/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [At some point, we all have to decide how we are going to fail: by not going far enough, or by going too far.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-rubin/at-some-point-we-all-have-to-decide-how-we-are-going-to-fail-by-not/) [Harriet Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-rubin/) > [I don't believe in a price on carbon, because the government is going to control it and they're going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-boone-pickens/i-don-t-believe-in-a-price-on-carbon-because-the-government-is-going/) [T. 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The law of averages shows that 80% of companies are going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-carter/it-isn-t-that-every-company-is-going-to-be-successful-the-law-of/) [Troy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-carter/) > [I was always told, 'If you're gay, your career is going to fail.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittney-griner/i-was-always-told-if-you-re-gay-your-career-is-going-to-fail/) [Brittney Griner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittney-griner/) > [Listening to someone telling a story & thinking: Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, and lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/listening-to-someone-telling-a-story-thinking-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mary Ellen Mark > [In a portrait, you always leave part of yourself behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/in-a-portrait-you-always-leave-part-of-yourself-behind/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [That's the way I learned photography: You make your picture in the camera. Now, so much is made in the computer. ... I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/that-s-the-way-i-learned-photography-you-make-your-picture-in-the/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I wanted to travel from the beginning. As a kid, I used to dream about airplanes, before I ever flew in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-wanted-to-travel-from-the-beginning-as-a-kid-i-used-to-dream-about/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [A great photograph needs no explanation; it functions by suggestion. 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It's not really photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/nowadays-shots-are-created-in-post-production-on-computers-it-s-not/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [ To touch on people's lives \[ in a way they \] haven't been touched on before, it´s fascianting. You know, it's one thing if… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/to-touch-on-people-s-lives-in-a-way-they-haven-t-been-touched-on/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [What you look for in a picture is a metaphor, something that means something more, that makes you think about things you've seen or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/what-you-look-for-in-a-picture-is-a-metaphor-something-that-means/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [It's just a matter of who you are and how you talk to people. Your subjects will trust you only if you're confident about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/it-s-just-a-matter-of-who-you-are-and-how-you-talk-to-people-your/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [If I hadn't become a photographer, I would have loved to become a doctor. I would have loved to have done something that actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/if-i-hadn-t-become-a-photographer-i-would-have-loved-to-become-a/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I'm not much for cats. I'm terrified of mice. I've worked a lot with elephants, and they are extremely intelligent and sensitive, and thankfully,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-not-much-for-cats-i-m-terrified-of-mice-i-ve-worked-a-lot-with/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [I'm not against digital photography. It's great for newspapers. 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Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. 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