Monday, September 13, 2010

Question of the Day: At what point does confidence cross over into cockiness?


I like a confident man.  I'm even more impressed by a confident woman who can hold her head up high and require only the best for herself.  What I'm not a fan of, is someone who has an entitlement attitude and acts as though its their right to put down or condescend to others.  I was just having this conversation with my girlfriend yesterday who said she was out to dinner with a bunch of her girlfriends and she was appalled by how they treated the servers.  She said they complained the entire time and acted as if they were somehow better human beings than the servers simply because of the side of the table they were on!

This reminds me of a time when I was on a date with a very wealthy, polished and powerful gentleman who seemed very sure of himself.  I realized, however, that his confidence crossed over into arrogance when he treated our server like a second class citizen.  Not only was it embarrassing and uncomfortable, but I felt as though I was aiding and abetting his behavior just by being his date!

There is a fine line, I will admit, between confidence and cockiness.  I mean, hell, I'm guilty of becoming too damn proud of myself and boasting when I've succeeded at something I worked really hard at.  We're human.  It happens.  The difference, I think, is that someone who becomes cocky or arrogant has worked at that attitude for sometime.  It didn't just happen overnight.  After years of doing great things, working really hard, becoming powerful, looking beautiful, or what-have-you, and constantly receiving praise, they filled themselves up with the accolades and forgot to self-check and become humbled by other life experiences.  

Arrogant people usually end up short circuiting themselves because they turn enough people off and become alienated.  And, the cockiest of cocky don't even care!  Anyways, how do you see yourself?  Are you confident or cocky?  Don't be too quick to answer.  If you fall into the latter category, you'd be wise to figure out why and then do something about it post haste!

No comments:

Post a Comment