The Balance Between Confidence and Safety

During the past month, I experienced a growth in confidence in many activities. I became more confident doing hard trail runs, driving boldly, and speaking to other people.

Confidence improves your performance in almost every aspect. The lack of hesitation will make you more efficient. For example, when I was running a trail in Yosemite last week, two persons that were physically more capable than me tried to run against me. Even though they were in better shape than me, I was able to win the race because I was feeling confident enough to take bigger risks by jumping between rocks.

However, there is a caveat. The more confidence you acquire, the more you will be willing to take risks that can put you in danger. Let’s take the common example of driving. During your first month driving, you don’t feel confident enough to drive boldly. You’re afraid that you’ll crash or do something wrong. With more experience, you start to try new things. You’ll drive faster when there’s no one in the street. If you take even more risks, you might crash.

One way to be safe and still enjoy your confidence is sensitizing yourself with learning and emotions. One can remember the consquences of car accidents or learn about stories of people broke a leg after doing a challenging trail run.