Confidence
Jul. 27th, 2005 09:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edgIt seems to me that there are two components to confidence:
(The two are intertwined; acknowledging failure and accepting its consequences doesn't necessarily mean that you can't try again, which is where the persistent belief that you have a reasonable chance of success comes in.)
Lacking any belief that you have a reasonable chance of success is pessimism - you're not only willing to acknowledge failure but expecting it.
Lacking a persistent belief that you have a reasonable chance of success is false confidence - as soon as you fail, you'll be back to pessimism.
Lacking a belief that you have a reasonable chance of success - believing, instead, that you have a perfect chance of success - is arrogance.
Lacking a willingness to acknowledge failure and accept its consequences is delusion.
Lacking both - believing that you can't succeed and being unwilling to acknowledge failure - is also delusion, but one that leads to isolationism; if you can't succeed and won't accept failure, then the only course of action is not to try at all.
As it appears to me, then, the key to self-confidence is to abandon the fear of failure and to acknowledge the chance of success. Ipso facto, the key to gaining self-confidence is to figure out how to abandon the fear of failure and to acknowledge the chance of success.
Any thoughts? Am I completely off-base?
- A persistent belief that you have a reasonable chance of success; and
- A willingness to acknowledge failure and accept its consequences.
(The two are intertwined; acknowledging failure and accepting its consequences doesn't necessarily mean that you can't try again, which is where the persistent belief that you have a reasonable chance of success comes in.)
Lacking any belief that you have a reasonable chance of success is pessimism - you're not only willing to acknowledge failure but expecting it.
Lacking a persistent belief that you have a reasonable chance of success is false confidence - as soon as you fail, you'll be back to pessimism.
Lacking a belief that you have a reasonable chance of success - believing, instead, that you have a perfect chance of success - is arrogance.
Lacking a willingness to acknowledge failure and accept its consequences is delusion.
Lacking both - believing that you can't succeed and being unwilling to acknowledge failure - is also delusion, but one that leads to isolationism; if you can't succeed and won't accept failure, then the only course of action is not to try at all.
As it appears to me, then, the key to self-confidence is to abandon the fear of failure and to acknowledge the chance of success. Ipso facto, the key to gaining self-confidence is to figure out how to abandon the fear of failure and to acknowledge the chance of success.
Any thoughts? Am I completely off-base?
no subject
Date: 2005-07-27 08:19 pm (UTC)I admit, I only apply this stuff to myself. Other people I just don't get.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-27 08:31 pm (UTC)I used to be like that. Then ... life sucked me dry and I became bitter and dry like a leaf. Other people's humor makes me laugh, but ... I only seem to succeed with making word-puns and conversational humour.
Drama, I could probably do Drama. Just create some personalities and watch them destroy each other. Ok, gotta go game. Ciao.