Virginia Valian

“...preoccupied with questions about my ability. How smart was l? How smart was I compared to so-and-so? How creative was I? How good was I at critical analysis? There was no end to these questions. They plagued me. They interfered with my work. I worried about whether I was smart enough to solve such-and-such a problem instead of getting on with trying to solve it. My preoccupation with my ability seemed to imply a need to be perfect, which is both a sign of arrogance and of weakness. It says, in effect, ‘I am so smart I can demand perfection of myself, something impossible for lesser mortals.’ But it also says, ‘l have so little confidence in my personal worth that professional imperfection is symbolic of personal unworthiness.”
― Virginia Valian