Self-Confidence vs Overconfidence
Self Confidence and Overconfidence are two terms, between which certain differences can be observed. Confidence, in general, refers to the faith or assurance that an individual has on something or someone. Confidence is believed as a positive quality as it allows a person to have faith in something, which enables him to perform a task in an effective and successful manner. If a person is not confident of his skills, even if the person is very talented, it does not come out in a strong, assured manner. When speaking of confidence, there are variations of it. Self-Confidence and Overconfidence are two such categories.
What is Self-Confidence?
Self-Confidence refers to the confidence or sense of assurance that a person has of himself. This can be about a special talent, a skill or even about the very personality of the person. When a person is self-confident, he does not shy away from responsibility and opportunities. For example, a person who has a talent in singing is asked to perform. If the individual is confident of his talent, then the person would take the opportunity. But, if the person is not sure about his talent and has doubts, then the person would not feel confident. Such a person has less or no self-confidence. In a group, it is easy to identify who are confident of themselves and who are not, from the way they behave. People who do not have self-confidence are full of doubts and do not take the initiative. They need to be reassured by other people and does not have faith in themselves.
Self-confidence allows a person to reach his highest potential
What is Overconfidence?
Overconfidence is an excessive level of assurance that a person has of his talents and qualities. Unlike self-confidence, which can be viewed as a positive feature, overconfidence is not. It is a negative feature of an individual. Self-confidence allows a person to reach his highest potential, by being open to opportunities and challenges. But overconfidence works as a barrier against a person’s success. This is because when a person is overconfident, he does not see his mistakes and flaws. It creates a façade of the individual as perfect and superior. Unfortunately, this works against the individual, disallowing him to see the reality. When this occurs, the person believes that he needs no practice and can execute without any training or effort. For example, a person can be talented in singing. But if the person is over confident, he would ignore practicing at all, thinking that anyway he is talented. Let us take another example. A student who passes the exam in the first semester thinks that he should not bother much about the second semester since he is good at studies anyway. This is overconfidence. The student does not study much for exams and assumes that he would pass the second semester exams in the same manner. Unfortunately, the student does not pass well. This is the result of overconfidence.
Overconfidence works as a barrier against a person’s success
What is the difference between Self-Confidence and Overconfidence?
• Self-Confidence is the trust that an individual has of him talents and qualities whereas overconfidence is the excessive level of confidence.
• Self-Confidence is positive as it allows the person to grow, by being open to opportunities and challenges. But, overconfidence is negative as it works as a barrier against individual development.
• A self-confident person accepts his mistakes, but an overconfident person does not see his mistakes and flaws.
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