Carlos Antonio Velez, a Colombian journalist, spoke at the pre- Peru vs. Colombia and said that his team "is much more than Peru, which has a limited squad". What else did he say?
"On paper and my voice does not tremble when saying this, Colombia is much more than Peru. Individually there is a big difference. Obviously, Peru has great players, but ours are better because they participate in an elite that is unknown for the Peruvian player", said the sports journalist.
“Extremes are usually not good”. We’re sick of hearing such quote; whose popularity suggests that there’s certain truth in it.
Confidence is not immune to this statement; most of us have suffered both its absence and its dangerous excess. By falling several times into this extremes, I’ve realized that confidence is an emotion that has to be neutralized and controlled.
I remember that not a long time ago I studied for a math test, in this aspect there is no middle ground for me: I either study a lot or I just relay on my common sense. However, it was different this time. I didn’t spend the same time as in other occasions, and so I knew I’d perform mediocrely. Also, I had been told by the previous period that had taken the exam a day before that it had been the most challenging test in their entire life. These two reasons made me take the exam defeated beforehand.
What happened? Well, the teacher told most of the class to re-take it because the big majority had performed poorly. I was obliged to do so because I failed the exam, because after taking the exam I left the math room knowing that I could’ve done it better. I didn’t perform to my fullest, I wasn’t smart while taking the test and I didn’t belief in myself. These self-limitations caused me to do the exam at 70% or 80% of my possibilities and that's the difference between failing or approving… plain and simple.
Overconfidence is, as well, not good at all. It takes away our critical lens (we think that everything is going to be fine), and this can be reflected not only in the bad calls of the Colombian journalist, because as we all know, the game Peru – Colombian ended in a draw, but also in our IA projects. At first we thought we had everything figured out, but I never thought of ending and leaving this program as I am right now. Thank you Mr. Bon, and all the IA crew for helping me to find this balance, this sweet spot where I can enjoy the virtues of being confident.