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The Thin Line Between Cocky & Confident – Which One Are You? | 10 Steps To Confidence

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Self-confidence is an important ability to have in order to become successful. However, this quality can easily be confused with arrogance because of the fine line that separates the two. On one hand, being cocky is about believing in your abilities related to only one specific aspect of your life. This is a very weak form of self-belief because the moment you step into a different environment, you’ll end up doubting yourself.

As such, confidence is an unshakable belief that you have what it takes to be successful. An arrogant person sees it in reverse: only those who are successful have the right to call themselves confident. If you want to become self-confident without crossing over into arrogance, here are 10 steps to help you get there:

 

10 Steps To Being Confident – Not Cocky

 

#1: Making Decisions

Arrogance can masquerade as self-confidence when a person makes a decision based only on their personal capabilities. Real self-confidence comes from making an informed decision based on a logical set of criteria to help you narrow down what course of action you should take.

Take the time to do your homework and find the root of the problem before deciding what to do. Once all the options are accounted for and thoroughly explored, only then can you truly be at peace with your final decision.

 

#2: Dealing With Failure

The only constant in life is change, and a confident person finds a constructive way to capitalize on an undesirable life event. On the other hand, a cocky person simply falls apart because their confidence is based only on their abilities – and not on how good they are at picking themselves up.

The key to being confident in the face of failure is to use the experience as a lesson which reveals your limitations. Without extracting the truth from a painful loss, you won’t be able to grow as a person.

 

#3: Embracing Imperfection

Although everyone wishes they were perfect, self-confident people don’t hinge their sense of self-worth on this impossible goal. Believing in yourself means being okay with not getting it right all the time.

Rather than focus on never making mistakes, they’re happy knowing that they have the perseverance to see themselves through a crisis.

Arrogant people on the other hand, possess the misguided belief that they must be without flaws; otherwise, they’ll punish themselves for it. As you can see, this is not a good foundation for self-confidence.

 

#4: How Others See You

Being cocky is a dedication to being more successful than everyone else. Arrogance tends to drive a person toward the impossible goal of outdoing the rest of the world.

This kind of ambition can give the illusion of self-confidence. The problem is that self-belief doesn’t come from external factors like other people’s approval. It’s always about being self-referenced. Therefore, a self-confident person only competes with himself and doesn’t depend on the opinion of others for validation.

 

#5: Handling Professional Achievements

Have you ever met someone who’s proud of his accomplishments to the point where he’s practically rubbing it in your face? If you have, you probably found him annoying and resented him rather than being happy for his success.

As mentioned earlier, self-confidence isn’t derived from the external world around you. Operating from this mindset will only frustrate you because you’ll feel inadequate if you don’t achieve 100% of your worldly goals. Celebrate your success, but temper it with a dose of humility. Be more focused on personal growth and not just your achievements.

 

#6: Acting In Social Situations

The problem with being cocky is that people are turned off by the vibe they get when someone is trying too hard to impress everyone in the room. You can’t win people over by trying to be the smartest, richest, or smoothest person out there.

Instead, a self-confident person is comfortable enough to let the other person do the talking. In fact, self-confident people are more interested in what the other person has to say rather than drone on about themselves.

The simple act of truly listening and asking meaningful questions conveys genuine interest. This is the best way to impress people without trying so hard.

 

#7: Dealing with your inner critic

Try all you want, you cannot deny that there will always be that ever-watchful critic observing your every move. When you feel like someone’s breathing down your neck and waiting for you to make a mistake, chances are that you WILL mess things up.

What you need to realize is that this inner critic loves to blow your worst fears out of proportion. Cocky people pay too much attention to this distracting chatter, causing their fragile self-belief to easily crumble.

 

#8: Listening To Others

Criticism can be hard to take, but self-confidence can take the edge off. It’s normal to feel defensive when dealing with a critic; even your body will physically react to it!

As mentioned, arrogance is confidence solely based on one’s abilities. When these come under attack, a cocky person has no other choice but to emotionally lash back.

Being confident in yourself is taking criticism objectively – even if the critic is just being hurtful for the fun of it.

Instead of trying to up the ante, a confident person simply acknowledges what has been said and moves on. Besides, he or she only has time to respond to constructive criticism from people who want to see them improve.

 

#9: Sharing Your Talents

Knowing that you’re good at what you do is only part of being confident. The other part involves being secured enough to share your abilities with the rest of the world.

Cocky people don’t like to share nor work with others – they don’t need anyone’s help. You can avoid being too cocky by simply opening yourself to other people. What’s more, you’ll create enriching relationships with future colleagues in the process!

 

#10: Focusing On The Wealth Of The World

Sharing your knowledge comes from the belief that there’s plenty enough to go around for everyone. Believing in the opposite fuels an arrogant person’s aggressiveness which can be mistaken as true confidence.

However, what really propels them is the irrational fear that they need to take what they can, while they can. This is the worst approach to becoming successful; believing that there’s only room for number one will make you overly competitive and arrogant.

Being confident is being able to relax, knowing that there will always be opportunities for growth and success. In the end, being cocky is only a mask for insecurity that stems from the fear of what will happen in the future. Self-confidence is focused not on the unknown, but the reality of the present and the many opportunities it brings.

 

Article By Joel Brown | Addicted2Success.com

I am the the Founder of Addicted2Success.com and I am so grateful you're here to be part of this awesome community. I love connecting with people who have a passion for Entrepreneurship, Self Development & Achieving Success. I started this website with the intention of educating and inspiring likeminded people to always strive for success no matter what their circumstances. I'm proud to say through my podcast and through this website we have impacted over 200 million lives in the last 10 years.

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How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

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In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be. 

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time. 

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.

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