Confidence vs. Arrogance
Tuesday Tools
Centering Thought: Confidence is something I earn as I learn and grow, while arrogance can prevent me from accessing the humility I need to learn, grow and improve in life. When I don’t feel safe, I may move into arrogance as a form of temporary, false protection. When I find my safety, I can learn even from my mistakes to truly be confident in life.
What is the difference between confidence and arrogance? Are they interchangeable?
True confidence is gained. It comes from the process of learning——becoming aware that there is something we do not know, engaging in resources to educate ourselves further, then practicing what we’ve learned until we can confidently do it well or even teach it to others expertly. These standard steps of learning can help us improve in any area. We can then confidently be self-assured in areas we have thoroughly learned through this process.
We can confidently make mistakes, too: Without realizing we need to improve in certain areas, we can act with a measure of confidence unwittingly, not realizing our mistakes until we learn them by accident. If we feel safe to experience humility, we can accept that we have more to learn and then begin the learning process afresh. In this way, we grow and learn and improve even more.
When making mistakes or feeling humble does not feel safe to us for any reason, we may cover ourselves with a false sense of confidence, or with arrogance. Arrogance can keep us feeling safe from others’ criticism; however, it does not leave room for us to open our minds to receive new information, to learn or grow or improve. Arrogance is a false sense of confidence that comes from hubris, rather than humility.