Third time's the charm

Confidence, if unchecked, can turn into superiority.
Modesty, if uncontrolled, can progress to inferiority.

Superiority vs inferiority.
Confidence vs modesty.

As if it wasn't difficult enough to form a healthy esteem....now we have make sure we're playing by the right set of rules.

I feel I'm balanced between these two dichotomies and often have to check myself from tipping either of two ways. The obvious problem is overconfidence.  Arrogance is never appropriate, under any condition.  You only have to read some of my earlier posts to see that the emotions I feel can border dangerously close at times.

But another problem is looking at the world with a linear perspective.  I sometimes feel as if everybody is on a number line and they merely shift positive or negative positions with each encounter.  Chalk this up to playing too many games that contain a +4 modifier.

It took a concerned classmate, an untrained professional, and a rerun of a speech I've heard twice before to make me aware of this issue.

Superiority is fleeting and relative.  It is a derived quality, one that comes from the people who surround you.  It can be pursued and achieved after years of work, only to be lost the instant the environment changes.

Confidence, on the other hand, needs no other person to establish.  Your life is your own.  Your strength is yours. It cannot be given. It does not come easily. But you take it with you wherever you go.

I've noticed that confident people are often raised to superior positions. Our society is not clever yet enough to distinguish between the two traits. But they certainly are quick to cut down those they view as undeserving. Our leaders would do well to remember why they are there and how they got there.