TrekAcademy


Lesson 044: Organic nature of building confidence
TV Series: Star Trek - The Next Generation
Season/Episode: 2/5 ('Loud As A Whisper')

[Scene]

When a deaf alien peace negotiator's telepathic interpreters are all killed during negotiations, the alien panics and shuts down completely. He doubts he can ever do anything anymore for anyone, now that he can no longer communicate.

Counselor Troi, who has been working with the alien, reminds the alien that she cannot help in the situation if he has already resigned himself to failure, for confidence is faith in one's self and it cannot easily be given to or obtained from another.

[Lesson]

Without confidence, failure is almost guaranteed in any situation. Lack of confidence in any management or leadership role is totally unacceptable. We have but to ask ourselves the question, would we follow someone who is not confident in themselves and unsure of their decisions?

Confidence in our selves comes through experience and knowledge. It builds through wins and losses, and through successes and failures.

Over time, we begin to recognize and understand our own limitations, and then we can target them for surmounting, resulting in greater confidence in ourselves.

If we let our limitations dictate our actions, then we have embraced a lack of confidence in our judgment and even in our thought process.

The absence of confidence is not easy to hide for it interprets our words and actions into semblances of resignation and failure, no matter how hard others may try to be supportive of us and try to convince us otherwise.

Confidence has to come from within and not from without.

Troi is absolutely correct, in that confidence cannot be administered - only self full-filled.

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