75
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by nichtsowichtig@feddit.de to c/autism@lemmy.world

I've spent some time reflecting yesterday and I realized that. When people want you to be confident they don't want you to be actually confident, they want you to pretend you are. It is idiotic and makes no sense, but it explains a lot of situations in which I behaved the wrong way.

confidence to me means the opposite of that. it means questioning your asssumptions, approaching things from a different angle, reflect, recalculate, asking for a second opinion. Because I'll end up with greater confidence that my assertions are more truthful. But apparently doing all that makes people think I'm insecure. Shit!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] bisby@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Confidence doesn't mean that you stand by a decision if others disagree. That's being stubborn. If people have valid points you hadn't considered when they try to convince you, you shouldn't just stick to your decision. If the counterargument is just "really? are you sure?" you shouldn't just give in. But if the counterargument is "really? did you account for X?" (and you hadn't, and X is important), then you might suddenly want to rethink the situation.

Confidence is more like an approximation for: on a scale of 1-100, how sure are you? If your answer is 75 or higher... just say 100. If your answer is 50-75... just say 75, and highlight key things you are still very not confident about. If it's lower than that, just say 0. "This will help you understand confidence" vs "This is generally how confidence works, the numbers might be a bit off, or the exact details aren't right, but it gets you most of the way there." vs "I have no idea what confidence is".

The key is not about how confident you actually are, but how others perceive your confidence. And in that regard, different situations call for different levels of confidence. A doctor doing brain surgeon shouldn't just go cutting through things at a 78 confidence level. But when deciding on what to have for lunch, "I dunno, tacos?" is fine even if you're only 23 confidence that you actually want tacos.

There are jobs out there that basically exist in the 50-75 confidence range. But you have to be able to articulate your lack of confidence and propose remedies. "Are we ready for the product launch Monday?" "No, I'm still concerned that we haven't addressed X". Some companies are very risk averse, and if your lack of confidence in success is because of confidence in the existence of risks (which you have to be able to convey to be helpful).

You have to figure out what level of confidence youre supposed to have in a situation (accounting for negative consequences of being wrong), and then give your answer. But to further complicate things, sometimes "give your answer" means answering "are you sure?" and sometimes it means presenting yourself in a way that implies that you are sure. Social interactions are weird.

this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
75 points (88.7% liked)

Autism

6555 readers
10 users here now

A community for respectful discussion and memes related to autism acceptance. All neurotypes are welcome.

We have created our own instance! Visit Autism Place the following community for more info.

Community:

Values

  • Acceptance
  • Openness
  • Understanding
  • Equality
  • Reciprocity
  • Mutuality
  • Love

Rules

  1. No abusive, derogatory, or offensive post/comments e.g: racism, sexism, religious hatred, homophobia, gatekeeping, trolling.
  2. Posts must be related to autism, off-topic discussions happen in the matrix chat.
  3. Your posts must include a text body. It doesn't have to be long, it just needs to be descriptive.
  4. Do not request donations.
  5. Be respectful in discussions.
  6. Do not post misinformation.
  7. Mark NSFW content accordingly.
  8. Do not promote Autism Speaks.
  9. General Lemmy World rules.

Encouraged

  1. Open acceptance of all autism levels as a respectable neurotype.
  2. Funny memes.
  3. Respectful venting.
  4. Describe posts of pictures/memes using text in the body for our visually impaired users.
  5. Welcoming and accepting attitudes.
  6. Questions regarding autism.
  7. Questions on confusing situations.
  8. Seeking and sharing support.
  9. Engagement in our community's values.
  10. Expressing a difference of opinion without directly insulting another user.
  11. Please report questionable posts and let the mods deal with it. Chat Room
  • We have a chat room! Want to engage in dialogue? Come join us at the community's Matrix Chat.

.

Helpful Resources

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS