Dangers of overconfidence and how to overcome them

  

Date Posted: 2/19/2013 2:54:05 AM

Posted By: SimonMburu  Membership Level: Silver  Total Points: 838

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Being confident boosts morale, hard work and good expectation, and most of the time such a trait carries no harm. Although confidence is encouraged in all perspectives of life it also brings some harm when it is observed in excess. Remember too much of everything is poisonous. To be successful you need confidence in whatever you might be doing but you should keep in mind that overconfidence carries the following demerits.

1. Depression. This is a mental disorder caused by excessive stress which might be brought about by failure after being overconfident in something. Let's take the example of a student who sat for an exam and had extra confidence that he would pass but the outcome is the opposite, such a situation creates stress and in the long run it leads to depression.

2. Failure to deliver on your promises. When you fail to deliver on something that you had promised confidently, it brings disgrace to the other party. Failure to deliver on promises makes people loose trust in you and you end up being desperate. In the business world it might lead to debts or great losses.

3. Leads to self blame. When everything goes astray the blame bounces back to you. Blame from workmates, classmates and most of all from yourself. Self blame can also lead to stress and create problem number one.

Now that we have seen the dangers of overconfidence we need to see some techniques of overcoming the situation.

1. You need to recognize luck. Do not be absolutely confident about something just because you have done it several times. Tell yourself things happen successfully because of luck, this way, you will be able to avoid being overconfident. If the outcome is failure you will be able to say to yourself that you were not lucky this time

rather than dying in a desperation state.

2. Expect less. When you expect less you won't be disappointed when the less you expected comes out. On the other hand if you expected more and the less comes out you will get disappointed. People who expect less live a comfortable stress free life.

3. Prepare for failure. Bear in mind that in every action there is a reaction, so expect failure in everything you do. Don't say that failure does not exist in your vocabulary, what if the outcome is failure? Preparing for failure also helps you plan for the next step in finding the correct solution to your problem.

4. Never credit yourself too much. It is good to credit your deeds but doing it too much shows overconfidence which might bring desperation when the opposite happens.

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