At previous points in my career I’ve allowed myself to think thoughts like, “I’m doing well,” “I’m crushing this,” and “I’m finding this easy”.
Over time I’ve spotted a pattern: whenever I allow myself to think these thoughts, something unexpected happens to humble me.
I doubt that’s coincidence.
I’m not advocating for a constant state of fear or paranoia. But I do think there is something about keeping close tabs on our confidence.
A quiet confidence coupled with an awareness that things could go wrong any moment—that’s healthy.
Excessive confidence to the point where we have blind spots to issues and errors—that’s a recipe for pain.