Cockiness v. Confidence

A few months back, the big fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao happened and each fighter felt they packed a punch in their favor. Pacquiao felt he was going to win because he had God on his side and Mayweather (the mouthy man he is) knew he was going to win because he felt he was a better competitor than his opponent.

As I watched the many clips of Mayweather’s preparation for his night of fame in Las Vegas, I realized that he seemed overly big-headed. But from his words and the work he put in every day I couldn’t help but wonder if he was cocky or just plain ol’ confident.

I think the distinction between these two words lies in how your idea of others transforms with your newfound skill.

You see,

Confidence= I know who I am; Cockiness= I know that I am better than you, and you, and you over there

It’s very hard to lead a life of success if you waver in who you are because then it will be easy for people to hinder you from coming into your full potential.

I used a version of this quote in my post “Discover, Accept, then Run” but I chose to change it a bit to fit this post:

“If you continually doubt your identity, your beauty, or your capacities, then it will be very difficult for you to accomplish anything.”

Mayweather was just a man who knew what he could do. He was confident in his training and in his undefeated title.

For him, he knew who he was and for that reason he felt that he was better than his opponent because of it—not saying that this is how we should feel towards others, but can’t we all learn a little something from Mayweather?

Just like Mayweather, if you put the right amount of effort into your endeavors, you too can feel confident when the time comes for you to deliver.

Don’t wander through your life being unsure of who you are and what you’re capable of. Don’t keep letting your identity be tampered with. Declare who you are and walk in your authority. Don’t tread lightly in it.