I think it’s impossible to 100% accurately see ourselves and our abilities. We can get close, but we’ll never be able to perfectly and exactly judge how capable we are in a given area. So, either we are overconfident in our abilities or we’re underconfident in them.
It’s safest to be a little underconfident. If we always stay in situations that require a little less than our maximum ability, we won’t fail, we won’t look stupid, and we won’t have to struggle. Safe and easy. But, we won’t grow either…
The only way to really grow is by being slightly overconfident in what we can do. Our capabilities won’t expand unless we force them to and the only way we do that is by taking on things that are slightly outside of our current abilities. Now, if we take on things that are a little outside our skill set, we’re going to fail, we’re going to look stupid, and we’re going to struggle. But, we’re also going to grow.
I’m not saying that we should be extremely overconfident, that’s a recipe for disaster. But, tempered with realism, slight overconfidence leads us to take on things that will stretch us and help us grow. So, here’s to being just a little overconfident.