We take it as a truism that confidence is a prerequisite for success, and we struggle to look confident even when we’re not. Men are especially prone to this trap, perhaps because they often learn to be men through sports. To an extent, the lessons of athletics are valuable. A confident shooter will more likely make his shot than a doubtful one, but perhaps we place too much stock in the appearance of this mysterious trait.
After all, the truly difficult work of life ought to arouse uncertainty. The scientist in the lab, the artist in the studio, the athlete in the gym confront frustrating limits every day. They cannot but acknowledge their own deficiencies. Even less exalted lines of work are humbling. A factory worker can withstand only so much exertion, repetition of movement or tedium. In no line of work is extreme confidence wholly justified.
Yet we insist on it. When I worked as a journalist, my editors would often ask me to assure them that my story was sound. This gut-check moment would come at the very end of the process — after the story had been reported, written and edited. Most professions involve such moments. For the chef in the kitchen, the lawyer in court, the musician onstage, the gut test is an inescapable feature of work, yet rarely is assurance rational. If you’re good, only about half your shots will fall in the hoop, and even journalists who have their facts straight know that the truth of the story is probably more complex than their thousand words have made it out to be.
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Paul Jaskunas, Playing the Confidence Game
The truly difficult work of life ought to arouse uncertainty.
from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/128984960972
