Today is Monday, so this post is on self confidence.
Recently, I saw an article on Wikipedia that tied confidence to anxiety. The article identified three types of people – overconfident, unconfident and confident -- and described how each type reacts to anxiety.
Overconfident: Over confident people experience little or no anxiety. In the absence of anxiety people can become reckless; everything appears rosy. Overconfident people often don’t see the need to consider all possible outcomes as they are sure every outcome will be what they expect.Unconfident: Unconfident people get paralyzed by anxiety. They tend to have lots of self-doubts, are very critical of themselves and have low self esteem. This often results in a vicious cycle where anxiety cripples them into inaction; which causes them to berate themselves, and creates more anxiety.
Confident: Confident people keep anxiety at an optimum level. They realize that negative outcomes are possible, but they assume positive outcomes. They neither exaggerate nor minimize the potential for negative outcomes. Confident people prepare. They plan for what they will do regardless of the outcome – positive or negative. They say to themselves “this is what I will do if this happens”.
According to Wikipedia, confidence is the state of balanced perceptions and preparation.
I like the duality of the idea of balanced perceptions and preparation. Think of it this way; confident people expect good things to happen, but they realize that sometimes they will fail. They prepare for two reasons: 1) to bring good things to fruition; and 2) to plan for what they will do if things don’t work out as planned.The common sense point here: begin every job with the idea that you will be successful. Plan what you need to do to succeed, and do it. Also, plan what you will do if you are not successful. True success often comes from being able to deal with negative outcomes in a positive way.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading. Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense. Check out my other blog: www.CommonSenseGuy.com for common sense advice on leading people and running a small business.
I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Bud
PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open. Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.
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