Confidence is Key
It’s amazing what a difference confidence makes.
As the Dow tips into the highest territory it’s been in well over a year, there’s a general feeling of confidence slipping back into economies all around the world, including the Australian one. Anyone who has traded shares knows all too well that there is very little that is rational about the stockmarket. More than anything, it’s an emotional game, far more than many would want to admit. Perfectly solid and excellent companies will find their share prices falling for all kinds of irrational reasons, while others see enormous leaps based on nothing more than rumour and a hunch.
In sport, confidence is huge. Anyone who has played on a winning team knows the feeling that even when things look bad and the chips are down, you just know that you can do it. It’s rather different when you play for a losing franchise, and even when you’re winning, you’re just waiting to lose it through some catastrophe… snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Watch the walk of the confident, and you know there’s a difference.
Interestingly, confidence leaks and overflows into others… and so does a lack of confidence.
Watch someone get up on stage to speak or sing, and you immediately get a sense of their confidence and it impacts even the audience. When someone is confident, you relax and enjoy. There’s nothing more excruciating than watching a nervous and terrified person fumble their way forward… you feel yourself on edge with them… your heart rate goes up and you feel yourself cringe.
Confidence is more important than we sometimes realise. It’s hard to manufacture. You can only bluff so long before you’re out of the poker game. But true confidence is a game changer. You just know it’ll work out because… well, you just know…
Not sure I have all the answers, but I’m more convinced than ever that confidence is key in more ways than we understand.