The yin-yang of self-confidence and humility

The other day I had an epiphany about the yin-yang of self-confidence and humility.

On one hand we have self-confidence. Too little of this and you end up being a mockery of the potential within you. Instead of dictating your own destiny, you end up being a pebble in the warpath of strong-willed neighbours. Self-confidence requires you to be convinced of your own arguments and reasoning; of being able to decide on the path that you wish to pursue.

Yet, too much of this virtue and the dangers of over-confidence and hubris can start ringing the death knoll of success. Let being overtly cocky be left to your so-called larger than life figures; they will see the light soon. Being "too full of one-self" and not being able to see the faults in one's own schemes is perhaps one of the most short-sighted things to do.

Which is where the beauty of humility sets in...

By learning to have a patient ear and listening to the opinions of others we gather the wisdom of the world. It is an attempt to acknowledge that the universe is a sum of many parts and you are just a part of the grand puzzle, a brush of colour on the master-stroke that is life.

However, too much of humility and you have the trap of not being able to listen to your own thoughts, drowned as it were in the multitude of voices that you've opted to surround yourself with. To be able to drink in the wisdom of the opinions around you and yet make your own judgement is the way of the wise.

Which is where the self-confidence sets in...