Many people struggle to find a balance between confidence and arrogance. Arrogance can be a turn-off for potential clients, collaborators and employees.
Confident people are open to external opinions and ideas, secure enough to accept help. Arrogant people believe they know it all and refuse to take feedback or advice.
1. Be Honest
One of the best ways to be confident but not arrogant is to be honest. People who are arrogant may lie to try and impress others, but a truly confident person will be open about their strengths and weaknesses. A coach can help with this if you struggle to be self-aware.
Arrogant people don’t give compliments unless they are asked for them and often criticize others rather than offering constructive criticism. Confident people know that they are not alone and will reach out to colleagues, friends and family for support. They will also share their knowledge and expertise to help others. This is a great way to build relationships without being viewed as an arrogant person. In fact, people who are arrogant are rarely able to maintain close friendships as they tend to put people at arm’s length.
2. Be Mindful
It can be difficult to distinguish between confidence and arrogance because they look the same. An arrogant person is self-assured, able to express their thoughts and opinions with ease but may be unwilling to listen to feedback from others. Confident people, on the other hand, are open to feedback and willing to learn from others.
Practicing mindfulness is an effective way to keep your confidence in check. This means living in the present moment, not ruminating on past mistakes or worrying about future outcomes.
It is also important to have a close group of friends that you trust to give you a dose of reality if your confidence starts to become arrogant. This will allow you to maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem and confidently go after your goals.
3. Don’t Overshare
Oversharing can be a sign of arrogance, and it can be difficult to recognize. If you overshare, you may not realize it until people around you start to get irritated by your stories or stop listening altogether.
It’s important to remember that confidence and arrogance are very different things. Confidence is about having faith in yourself, having poise, and being level-headed. Arrogance is about boasting, hogging the spotlight, and making others look bad.
If you tend to overshare, try to limit how much you talk. If you find yourself running on about something for more than a few minutes, it’s probably time to ask a question or move onto another topic. It will be harder to do at first, but eventually you will learn to be more efficient with your words.
4. Be a Team Player
Being a team player requires you to listen and be open to the ideas and contributions of others. It’s important to recognize and encourage teammates when something goes well, and to be honest about what went wrong when there is a problem.
Confident people are able to take the advice and suggestions of others without feeling threatened by them. This allows them to learn from their mistakes and improve their performance. Arrogant people, on the other hand, are unwilling to do this.
Using mindfulness to be confident but not arrogant is an essential skill for success. However, it’s not easy to identify when you cross the line. Working with a coach can be an effective way to keep your confidence in check and prevent arrogance.
5. Be Respectful
Being confident is a good thing, but it’s important to be mindful that too much confidence can border on arrogance. Arrogance can quickly turn off co-workers and make it difficult to maintain a solid network of friends. It can also prevent you from listening to others and letting them contribute to your ideas, which will actually limit your own performance.
To stay on the right side of the confidence-arrogance line, be regular self-reflective, be open to constructive feedback, and practice humility. You can also benefit from incorporating mentoring and coaching into your daily routine. Keeping your arrogance in check will help you achieve success. Just remember that confidence begins from within, and it grows slowly over time. Be patient and don’t try to oversell yourself.