January 23, 2008
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“Your overconfidence is your weakness. Your faith in your friends is yours.”
Funny how both statements are kinda saying the same thing.
Someone told me a few days ago that I “overestimate”. Just yesterday someone told me that I’m “too quick to praise.”
So am I Luke or am I the Emperor?
I wonder….
These days I think that others are just too cautious and too careful and too pessimistic. I’ve come to believe that thinking highly of others can only be a good thing. Why? It’s a logical thing.
Either A. my high opinion is correct or B. my high opinion is incorrect.
If A. obviously no harm no foul right? Maybe telling someone the truth will make them feel better about themselves. And I feel good about myself too for having held on to a true belief.If B, well I only really hurt myself right? I end up being the one disappointed. But I still can make the person feel better about themselves through sharing my possibly deluded belief. Moreover, in my observation people can change and are more likely to change when they are positively motivated. Hence, my false high opinion may well become a true high opinion because I held it.
Am I wrong?
Perhaps.But if that’s the case I like being wrong. Overconfidence can be our strength. Our faith in our friends can be the source of our power. By holding these beliefs we can push a little toward creating the reality that we want to exist. It’s a not a lie exactly. It’s faith.
I’m actually pretty damn quick to criticize too. Nobody seems to mention that part to me. I wonder why? I don’t usually hesitate to tell people when I think they are screwing up. I just tend to also want to tell people the good things about them too. Sometimes in the very same sentence. Something like “You’re a genius, but that was probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do.” That kind of a sentence.
I guess I just want to see the good in people and believe in it. And so I open my eyes and I see it. I could be wrong. But I’m pretty sure I almost never am. There’s bad too. Too much bad. No point in hiding from that. But we can still retain our confidence and faith in spite of those truths. And that makes us stronger. I believe that.
Actually I didn’t use to think like this. I didn’t think so highly of others. I learned it. I learned it during college.
