Confidence is a Stain That Can't be Removed

Most of you probably already understand that there is a difference between confidence and cockiness. For instance, George Clooney is confident while Kanye West is cocky. Confidence is respected while cockiness annoys and is often not taken seriously. Confidence is a force not to be reckoned with; confident people usually get what they're after in an efficient manner. I bring this subject up because in the last couple of months that I've been living in Israel, I've noticed that many of the young people here are quite cocky. I've also become aware that it's something that they probably grow out of because most of the older people who live here lack that overbearing arrogance.

It's interesting to watch a cocky attitude in action; it's all in their choice of words. Example, there's a test coming up in class, a confident person would say, "I studied the subject matter. I feel good about this test, I'm going to do well." A cocky person would say, "You might as well give me that A now, I haven't studied one bit but I've got it in the bag." Don't get me wrong, cockiness is very amusing, it's one of the reasons I'm so fascinated by Kanye West. I mean, the man doesn't quit; he's so cocky that he IS respected for it. People forgive him for his cocky behavior because they know he'll be at it again. But let's face it, there's only one Kanye West on this planet and we can't all make a cocky attitude look that sharp. Most of the time, cocky people make me feel disgusted, they think they have all the answers and make assumptions about things they really have no clue about.

I guess young people all over the world have a lot to learn but it got me wondering, where does that attitude come from? Is it because they sincerely believe that they got it goin' on, or are they deeply self-conscious inside and this is just one of the ways they deal with it? The thing about cockiness is that it fades, one hit below the belt and the person becomes defensive, sloppy and weakened. But confidence, well, like I said, it's a stain that can't be removed.

TTFN XX