How to be confident without being arrogant?
Confidence is believing in your abilities and trying to achieve the best. Confidence is inner strength, self esteem and happiness. When you believe in yourself, you don't need other's approval. Confident people don't need to prove themselves; instead they work constantly to improve. They might seek external validation, but they don’t depend on it to define their abilities. If you insist constantly to impress people with your abilities, you cross the line into arrogance.
Let’s analyze the thinking pattern of confident and arrogant people:
Confident: I can do this.
Arrogant: Only I can do this.
Arrogant people do trust in their skills as well but they refuse to acknowledge other's abilities and experiences. They do have successes in life but they are fragile and don’t last longer due to their difficulties in accepting fault, guidance and feedback from others.
Not always arrogance, there are many who are plagued with over confidence. This can also be fatal as you can overestimate the chances of success of an endeavor and underestimate the risks, making you unable to make viable decisions.
Success calls for humility, in absence of that learning ceases to exist. Humility allows learning from critics and admitting past mistakes. Only humble people can welcome alternative perspectives and opinions. Together "Confidence and Humility" makes a great recipe for a grand success.
Now the bigger question is, can confidence and humility co-exist in the same person? And the answer is - Yes.
Confidence and humility are the beliefs that can be learnt unlike many other things that are beyond our control. Humans are not naturally humble. We should make an effort to stay humble in success and for that we need to conquer our inflated ego.
Develop the ability to really absorb what others say and listen with an open mind. Taking feedback and guidance from juniors is a tough job and listening to your peers is even more difficult. In order to inculcate the winning habit, start with an easier option by discussing things with juniors and gradually with you team mates and peers. Don’t hesitate in seeking advice and feedback from them and acknowledging mistakes. You’ll become more receptive to and respectful towards the opinions of others.
Develop a habit of praising and enjoying other's accomplishment, you will be rewarded with joy and positive vibes leaving you inspired to be on course of your journey.
