Confidence Yes,
Overconfidence No

Over-confidence is a common flaw in the character of those who are lacking in humility. The virtue of modesty makes you a realist – a person who is cut down to size.

Confidence is good, but over-confidence is bad. Confidence is very important in life for both men and women. But when a person becomes over-confident, he takes such great risks as are beyond his capacity to deal with successfully. It is like fighting against the laws of nature.

Why does a person become over-confident? The reason lies in over-assessment of his capabilities. Sometimes people rate their competence too highly and plunge into situations that are beyond their control.

One historical example is that of the wrong decision-making of Napoleon Bonaparte, the erstwhile Emperor of France. He used to say that the word ‘impossible’ was to be found only in the dictionary of fools. This was sheer over-confidence and led him into the ill-conceived attempt to invade Russia in the winter of 1812. The Russian army at that time was not very strong, but they had the advantage over the French army in being able to cope with the severity of their winter, whereas the severe cold of that region proved to be fatal for Napoleon’s army. The extreme cold accompanied by hailstorms caused most of the French soldiers to perish even before entering Moscow.

The same happened with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany. It was his belief that he was destined for success. He thought he was invincible. Deluded by this obsession, he invaded Russia in the winter of 1941. His army too was caught up in a hailstorm and was crushed at Stalingrad. Over-confidence generally leads people into misadventures, which can be fatal to both nation and individuals. In this world, no one is so strong as to court disaster with impunity.

According to the divine scheme of life, any achievement is a result of two factors – one’s personal planning and support by the external world. The share of personal planning is less than fifty per cent while the share of outside factors is more than fifty per cent. It is this fact which makes over-confidence untenable in this world. People, thanks to their obsessions, take into account only their own planning, generally ignoring external factors. Unable to foresee future developments, they indulge in unrealistic thinking, which eventually proves fatal. Most of the people who are prone to this kind of thinking risk being failures.

I know an educated person who was in a good government job but then, because of his political ambitions, he resigned from service and threw himself into the arena of politics. This adventure proved to be beyond his capacity and he was defeated in the elections. He lost both government service and the assembly seat.

Then there is the question of how one can cope with over-confidence. The formula is very simple. Before taking a decision, discuss the matter objectively with other people who are well-informed and when it is proved that you are about to take a step in the wrong direction, accept the reality and admit your mistake.

Over-confidence is a common flaw in the character of those who are lacking in humility. The virtue of modesty makes you a realist – a person who is cut down to size. Such people generally proceed with caution because, before taking any action, they take into consideration all of the factors in whatever situation they have to tackle and make a thorough assessment of the risks involved. Taking this realistic approach prompts them to take into account their own shortcomings. This serves as a controlling element in their lives and prevents them from having to face untoward consequences.

Overconfident people remain wrapped up in their own thoughts. They know themselves but are unaware of the lives of others. From inside their own cocoon, they are unable to draw upon others’ experiences and develop the kind of inward-looking attitude which can be highly damaging to all concerned.

There is a saying that the young man sees the rule and the old man sees the exception. With a slight change, I would like to say that the overconfident person sees the rule and the confident person sees the exception. Overconfident people are always more likely than others to take risks. They hold that risk-taking is good. They say: “No risk, no gain.” But taking a risk must be a well-calculated move, otherwise it could lead to disaster.