I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong.
Interpretation
High standards drive self-improvement, despite self-doubt.
Michael Palin expresses how his high standards and critical self-reflection push him to strive for better results. He acknowledges that his motivation often stems from a deep-seated self-doubt, which compels him to prove to himself that he is capable of more than what he has achieved.
In practice
In a motivational speech addressing young professionals: 'I do have high standards...'
I've never had a particular skill. I can't cook, dance, play an instrument, speak a foreign language. This used to worry me. I'd think, when I'm grown up, at 18, then I made it 21, it will be clear what role I should have in life. It never happened. I never signed on the dotted line as the sort of adult my father wanted.
Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life
John Hall, my geography teacher at school inspired me to a lifelong interest in geography and a curiosity about our world which has stayed with me through my life. Geography is a living, breathing subject, constantly adapting itself to change. It is dynamic and relevant. For me geography is a great adventure with a purpose.
Despite having seen a fair amount of the world, I still love travelling - I just have an insatiable curiosity and like looking out of a window.
When I read profiles of myself, I sometimes think: 'I have spent my whole life struggling to understand my motivations and impulses, and I've never quite sorted them out.'
Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the world is the hope for the future.
Never give up. When your heart becomes tired, just walk with your legs - but move on.
You become what you believe. You are where you are today in your life based on everything you have believed.
I'm addicted to working. I mean, I have a list of 100 countries I want to play in. I'm basically killing myself by travelling so much, for no reason whatsoever.
Growth always involves the risk of failure.
Start with the belief that your life can indeed be changed, and that you have the power to change it.
Have a belief in yourself that is bigger than anyone's disbelief.
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