The merits of self-confidence have been extolled time and again. Certainly, this feeling is the key to success, both personally and professionally. But too much confidence kills confidence. What we mean is that self-confidence is good, but over-confidence can have the opposite effect.

By believing themselves capable of anything, people tend to underestimate everything. As a result, they no longer take the trouble to measure the stakes involved in a situation, since they’re sure that whatever happens, they’ll succeed. Worse, they belittle others and believe they’re always right about everything. Which is totally untrue. In life, you should never, ever take anything for granted. Too much is the enemy of good. Even water, though indispensable to man, can be bad if consumed in excess.

Overconfidence: definition and manifestation

Overconfidence is that force which leads an individual to overestimate his or her own abilities and believe that he or she is above all others. This is known as miscalibration and positive delusion. Far from being a simple condition, it’s a real identity disorder. The person constructs a vision of him/herself which does not reflect reality, and which may harm him/herself or others. Overconfident people believe that others see them in the same way. In their view, they have to go along with them at all times and praise them constantly.

And that’s the mistake most people make. Because they have a perfect family life or a professional career envied by everyone, many people believe they are superior to others. While loving oneself is a good thing, it shouldn’t be at the expense of respecting others.

Take the example of a successful entrepreneur. He believes he’s never wrong, that his arguments are the gospel. He imposes himself everywhere and imposes his will. He sees others as tools to help him move forward. This illustrates very well the character trait of people with a high opinion of themselves: they are the ones who decide, and they don’t have to obey circumstances – often to their detriment, unfortunately.

HOW DOES SELF-ESTEEM MANIFEST ITSELF?
This feeling manifests itself in three ways:

Overestimation: the person overestimates his or her performance and abilities, and has an illusion of control and planning over everything.
Over-precision: the person believes that his or her knowledge of something is precise and absolute, and that therefore he or she cannot make mistakes or fail.
Outclassing: the individual has a superior judgment of his or her performance compared to that of others.

Self-confidence: how to avoid falling off the wagon?

In certain situations, overconfidence can be an asset. But this is not always true. As the famous writer and poet Corneille so aptly put it: “too much confidence attracts danger”. The businessman who overestimates his analytical skills invests heavily in the stock market, risking his business. On another note, the person who believes that his or her partner will stay with him or her for life because he or she will never find someone better than him or her is neglecting his or her relationship and putting it at risk. In short, while believing in yourself is constructive, overestimating yourself can be your undoing. Hence the importance of knowing your limits.

The higher your self-confidence, the harder the fall. A person with a good self-image reduces their metacognitive capacity, i.e. their awareness of their level of performance. However, let’s not kid ourselves: humans are fallible. We can make mistakes, but the important thing is to get back up and keep going. Practice makes perfect. This proverb resonates perfectly here. But how can we avoid the pitfalls of overconfidence?

SELF-ANALYSIS
Overconfident people have a blind self-confidence that distorts their perception of things. As a result, they tend to overdo things. However, knowing your physical, physiological, mental, emotional and energetic limits enables you to know how far you can go in a given situation. It’s also the way to move forward, because limits are always evolving.

SELF-CRITICISM
Showing humility and accepting that there are things we can’t control helps us to avoid becoming excessive, or even unbearable for those around us. Indeed, there’s nothing more irritating than someone who thinks they know everything about everything. That’s why most overconfident people are often misunderstood and shunned. When the mask comes off, you can see that they’re unhappy and have no interpersonal skills, because let’s face it, nobody likes to be talked down to.

ACCEPTING CRITICISM FROM OTHERS
The problem with thinking too highly of yourself is that you tend to become narcissistic, arrogant and proud. At the slightest sign of criticism, you react with a start. But sometimes you have to accept the way others look at you, and not see evil everywhere.

How can overconfidence be good?

Don’t worry. Overconfidence isn’t all bad. It can take us a long way, if we use it wisely. Indeed, where others give up, the person who has a good opinion of himself keeps moving forward. Regardless of the obstacles. On the contrary, the greater the difficulties, the more they push them to surpass themselves. For them, nothing is impossible – all it takes is an iron will.

Considering that every goal is attainable, a person with good self-confidence will do whatever it takes to get there, but not without knowing his or her limits. Humility and modesty are signs of intelligence, and being over-confident doesn’t mean you’re invincible. What do you think?