Overconfidence May Create Blind Spots

It is true that confidence is very important in life. This is because it can help one to take actions, face the challenges of life, and also to believe in their ability. However, when confidence becomes overinflated or excessive, it may turn into overconfidence, which may become very dangerous. While confidence may help someone to grow in various aspects of life, overconfidence can actually create blind spots that makes the person not to see their weaknesses, limitations, or even their mistakes. They will feel they are omnipotent, yet there are areas within themselves that need urgent attention, but they are blinded to it. This is why you should do away with overconfidence.

I once read a story on social media about a young businessman who rose so quickly and became successful in business in a very short time. Then he started to feel that his decisions cannot fail. He stopped taking advice from experienced business people, and even stopped paying attention to early warning signs of financial management. Eventually, his business started to lose more money than it gained, because he was too overconfident to even recognise the problems early. His blind spot came because he thought he had known everything that needs to be known.

A blind spot is usually an area within the life of an individual that they fail to notice or to even understand. It might also be something that is happening around them that they fail to see, which ultimately affects them negatively. Someone who is overconfident will believe that they already know everything, so it will make them to become less careful, less aware of potential challenges or problems, less teachable, etc. When this happens, it will lead them to making poor decisions, experiencing unnecessary failures, and may even damage their reputation and their relationship with people.

Overconfidence also reduces one's willingness to learn new things or to improve on what they already know. When someone thinks that they already know everything, they will stop making adjustments, stop taking corrections, and this will also limit or stop their growth. Imagine someone who ignores feedback, thinking that they cannot be wrong. What they fail to understand is that growth requires humility and openness to learn new things. As the world is evolving and new things emerge, so also you need to keep learning, so that you will keep yourself afloat in the world.

Overconfidence can actually weaken someone from seeing a potential danger. I once watched a particular football competition of a very strong team, in fact one of the best clubs in the world with a lot of titles, facing a far junior team. Almost everyone expected the stronger team to win by a big margin. But on the contrary, their overconfidence made them to underestimate the other team. At the end, they did not pay attention to their tactical approach, and they lost the game. They lost, not because they were not able to beat the supposed weaker team, but because their overconfidence weakened them below the strength of the other team. When you feel you are invincible or omnipotent, life may just humble you with just one challenge.

Overconfidence also damages the relationship you have with people. There is a direct link between overconfidence, arrogance, rudeness, and the unwillingness to consider other people's perspectives. They try to make everything to be centered around them, they may even interrupt others, ignore teamwork, and feel that their own opinion is better and more superior than the opinions of others. Over time, this attitude can repel people from them, or even create tension, or make them to lose valuable relationships and opportunities.

In order to protect yourself from overconfidence, there are things you need to learn. The first one is humility. It takes a level of humility to know that you do not know everything, and it makes you teachable. Meanwhile, it will make you open to new things. Another way to protect yourself from overconfidence is through reflection. It is by reflecting within that you will be able to observe the areas that you overestimate yourself. This will also tell you where and how to improve yourself. Then do not stop learning. The more you learn and know, the more you realise that there are lots of things that you do not even know, so you stay humble and learn more.

Thanks for reading