Confidence is created from repetitive success from doing something you know you are going to win at. It comes from after doing it enough times successfully. For example, I love building side-projects. They are critical for my personal and professional growth. The more I build, the more confidence I accumulate.
Confidence compounds overtime because of successful outcomes. It requires less effort every time. Silence or chaos, confidence gets stronger. Capability shines over the difficulty of tasks because you spent time practicing your skill-sets. Confidence made overcoming obstacles easier.
But too much of it can be damaging. A sense of superiority kicks in from these successful outcomes. You lose touch with humility and willingness to discover more.
Confidence can be empowering at first, but can quickly lead to arrogance. Arrogance is deadly because you think you've figured it all out. You stop making progress. You no longer think there is more to discover. Or you put others down who are exploring.
This is why confidence is overrated for every new endeavor.
Confidence can be even more harmful during the early years of your profession because you haven't experienced repetitive success yet. As you are continuing to advance in life, you need to remember there is always more to discover and learn.
To learn new things, you need something more than confidence.
What is more important than confidence?
Courage!
Confidence comes from repetition. There is no substitution for reps. But the first step is always harder.
Armed with courage, you are able to cultivate that first step and live life under pressure.
And with courage comes achievement, progress, and a sense of pride.
If confidence comes from repetitive successful outcomes, where does courage come from?
One place it can come from is being highly obsessed.
Obsession requires motivation and if you are obsessed, you are likely going to have high motivation. This is the highest form of leverage as you begin your journey.
But motivation will likely decay overtime. Motivation is a perishable skill. It is up to you to not waste time and get to work.
Hard problems require courage even when your motivation is depleted.
To continue on, self-actualization is critical. It is an important characteristic of courage.
This will lead to higher performance even when emotional resources are depleted.
As time goes by, courage will lead to confidence.
You will need courage again when you are starting something new.
This is the lifecycle of a performer.