Confidence is overrated

We see lots of confident people: in the news, in reality shows, in politics, in religion. It seems we are living in the age of influencers, and something that they don’t lack is confidence. I even know personally people that exudes assurance. Undoubtedly charisma and self-confidence are powerful traits that attract other people and move the public opinion. But here’s some thought. What if confidence isn’t everything? What if sometimes honest skepticism is better than blind conviction? In short, I think confidence is overrated. We’d be better off admitting that no one knows everything, and that’s OK.

Overt confidence

I’m not saying that I am against people being confident. They should be when there’s good reason to. What I’m saying is that confidence for confidence sake won’t get us anywhere good. Unfortunately, that’s the case for many public figures. I heard something disturbing from someone once. “If you say something with conviction, even knowing it’s not true, people will buy it. People won’t contradict it.” They seemed to be pursuing their own advice, for political gain.

Critical thinking

For this reason, when someone shows confidence, they should be capable of explaining why they hold such views. This is to avoid just the appearance of it. They should do so in very simple and well founded terms. And needless to say, also in agreement with science and available data. Specially our leaders, we should hold them accountable. As followers, it’s our duty to question them. We need to exercise our critical thinking and they need to be transparent.

Developing our own convictions

After some time, we get to develop our own assurance. There’s a long way until we get there, and it starts with skepticism. Give doubt a try. The best outcome is when we are the most confident person we know. Again, not just for confidence sake, but based on well grounded terms. Otherwise, confidence is overrated.