A confidence that springs from uncertainty? Yes, indeed, it exists. This kind of confidence is useful and can be a strong asset to the person who employs it in just the right way. Here is an anecdote about this seemingly paradoxical quality and the success that can come from it.
The Power of Uncertainty
ONE THING IS for certain: I’m not certain of anything. Which isn’t necessarily a problem. After all, to be sure of being unsure is a liberating habit, one that invites a person to consider all aspects of an issue, weighing the risk-to-benefit ratio to maintain an advantage.
Don’t get me wrong: Action is good, and confidence is good, they are important and needed for growth and success; but over-action and over-confidence can get a person into trouble, killed, or, at the very least, into a mess that it would’ve been better to avoid had they not been so sure of themselves.
“The trick, in this modern world, is to know which is which and when is when.”
The Brain, the Brawn, and the Opportunist.
I remember, many years back, I was living in a duplex apartment. The house was divided in two, with me and my roommate on one side, and a traveling salesman on the other side. My roommate considered himself the smartest man alive, a modern-day Aristotle using his brains to achieve a series of unparalleled victories. His friend, occasional philosophical foe and constant drinking buddy was a weightlifter, a powerful fellow who maintained that ideas only took a person so far. It was strength and the will to act that were the important qualities to a successful man.
One day it came to the attention of my roommate, “Brains,” that our traveling salesman neighbor was in possession of a rare bottle of bourbon, a kind of Holy Grail of whiskey. Thus, he had an idea.
“I, being the brains of the group, suggest that one of us climbs up into the attic, crawls across to the other apartment, drops down through the attic stairs, grabs the bottle of whiskey, and we can drink this fine spirit, then replace it with cheap bourbon, put it back where we found it and lock the door. The perfect crime. No forced entry. No sign of wrongdoing. Everybody wins.”
His friend, “The Brawn,” had this to say:
“Bosh to your ideas, which are nothing more than wispy notions. I, being of superior strength, shall accomplish the task, retrieve the bottle, and help myself to the bigger portion, since it will be through my efforts that we actually obtain the bourbon.”
They both looked at me.
“I, being neither the smartest nor the most physically fit,” I declared, “shall walk down to the convenience store for a 12-pack of beer, all the while suffering through my mediocrity.”
They nodded, confident in their plan. I’d already decided that a few things could go wrong with the scheme. “Brawn” was powerful, indeed he could probably rip a tree trunk in half and club his dinner to death with it, but while he was chock full of confidence he lacked a certain grace. While I was uncertain of the outcome, I was certain it was subject to some degree of failure.
Action
Too over-confident to heed any warnings, “Brawn” climbed the attic ladder on our side, disappearing into the upper recesses of the house. I could hear the joists wine and creak as he lumbered his way to the opposite apartment. Knowing it was time for my own particular course of action, I confidently walked down to the convenience store, got my 12-pack, and returned to a scene of utter chaos.
Our neighbor’s apartment looked like a bomb had hit it. I walked up to the window and peered in, but I couldn’t see much through the thick cloud of plaster. “Brawn” eventually emerged, covered in insulation and sheetrock dust. It seems he’d misjudged one of the joists and had fallen through the ceiling, crashing down like a cannonball and destroying most of our neighbor’s main living room, whiskey bottles, furniture and all.
Reversal of Fortune
It wasn’t long before our neighbor arrived home, unexpectedly early, to the scene of devastation. Pretty soon the police, lawyers, and insurance adjusters were all involved. I simply had to produce the receipt for my beer, time-stamped, and to explain that I was “neither smart enough nor athletically capable enough” to take part in the ambitious whiskey scheme.
It wasn’t long before my roommate and his big brain were evicted, and “Brawn” was shipped off to a work farm, while I moved into the better room with the better view, and from then on things were looking up.
Confidence Without the Burden of Over-Confidence
Confidence may be simply the value we place on our own intuitions, and being certain of ourselves, even during uncertainty. A lot is subject to chance, and the ability to recognize opportunity and finesse it to one’s own advantage will strengthen our own understanding, and we may cultivate a grander, more practical confidence with each success. Modern life, after all, rarely needs to be wrestled into submission, rather skillfully conducted, like a Maestro.
Let the symphony begin….
