{"id":1584,"date":"2010-03-24T07:08:10","date_gmt":"2010-03-24T14:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2019-03-08T03:33:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-08T11:33:48","slug":"pragmatic-optimism-how-your-fears-and-doubts-can-allow-you-to-succeed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/24\/pragmatic-optimism-how-your-fears-and-doubts-can-allow-you-to-succeed\/","title":{"rendered":"Pragmatic Optimism: How Your Fears and Doubts Can Allow You to Succeed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Doubt<\/a><\/p>\n

Deep down, I\u2019m a die-hard optimist. I believe the world is getting better<\/a> and that the pursuit of the ideal life is possible and worthwhile. While I disagree with a lot of current self-help, I embrace the core premise: that we can become better people.<\/p>\n

But, as optimistic as I am about the pursuit itself, I\u2019m constantly doubting the methods to achieve it. I\u2019m often on the verge of completely deconstructing my approach in any area of my life. My fears are less focused on the possibility of the goal, but that I\u2019m taking the wrong path to reach it.<\/p>\n

And you know what? I think that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

Certainty is Overrated, and Often Dangerous<\/h2>\n

I think there are two general types of confidence you can have: confidence in your ultimate potential and confidence in your particular method.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re confident in your ultimate potential, you have the die-hard optimism that there exists a way to reach your goals, or if not, at least a way to reach an equally satisfying objective. When I started learning French<\/a>, for instance, I was confident that I could become fluent eventually.<\/p>\n

Confidence in a particular method, however, is the conviction that particular set of actions will allow you to reach your goal. As French is the first foreign language I\u2019ve learned, I lacked the specific confidence, which has led to constant experiments and tons of hard work.<\/p>\n

While I wouldn\u2019t consider myself fluent yet, I believe my mix of confidence in the ultimate goal and doubt in the specifics of how to get there are the reason I\u2019ve come so far. Had I been confident in my first assumptions, two things would have probably happened:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I would never have picked up different tactics through experimentation.<\/li>\n
  2. I wouldn\u2019t have worked as doggedly on reaching the goal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Doubt Your Methods, Not Yourself<\/h2>\n

    Ideally your confidence in specifics should be matched to reality. However, since a perfect perception is impossible, I\u2019d rather be underconfident of my methods than overconfident.<\/p>\n

    The worst case of specific underconfidence is that you put in more work than you need to, and you spend too much time on experimentation. But even that isn\u2019t a significant problem, as when the correct method starts getting better results, you\u2019ll emphasize it more.<\/p>\n

    The worst case of specific overconfidence is more damaging: you won\u2019t work hard enough (because, heck, you\u2019ve already got it figured out) and you\u2019ll experiment too little. As a result you could waste a lot of time pursuing dead-ends and never stumble upon the right way to reach your goals.<\/p>\n

    We all have a certain amount of inner doubt and uncertainty. The difference is some people apply it ruthlessly to their methods, and others use it to doubt themselves, and whether their goal is actually realizable. One is practical, the other is destructive.<\/p>\n

    Examples of Pragmatic Optimism in Action<\/h2>\n

    Cal Newport writes about Teach for America<\/a>, which keeps extensive data, allowing it to track who are its most successful teachers.<\/p>\n

    Teach for America\u2019s in-house professor, Steve Farr, noted that when he sets up visits with superstar teachers they often say something like: \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to come, but I have to warn you \u2014 I am in the middle of just blowing up my classroom structure\u2026because I think it\u2019s not working as well as it could.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    I\u2019ve mentioned it before, but I love Tim Ferriss\u2019s talk<\/a> because it exemplifies this same split between general confidence and ruthlessly doubting the specifics:<\/p>\n