September 19, 2025
Confidence is one of those tricky human traits that can either carry someone to great heights or make them the punchline of a joke. Robert Hughes hits on a truth we’ve all witnessed: sometimes the people with the least skill walk around with the most swagger.
I’ve met people like this in every setting, school, work, the playground with my kids. They strut in with complete certainty, announce their opinions like they’re gospel, and proceed to bulldoze a conversation without ever stopping to ask if they might be wrong. And here’s the frustrating part: sometimes they win. They get the promotion, they land the client, they walk away with the microphone, not because of brilliance, but because of bluster.
Meanwhile, some of the most talented people I know hesitate before they speak. They second-guess their answers, polish their work to death, or convince themselves they aren’t ready when in fact they’ve been ready for years. It’s as if talent carries its own weight of humility, and humility doesn’t always get rewarded.
I’ll be honest: I’ve been on both sides of this. I’ve let my doubts keep me quiet, even though I had something worth saying. And I’ve also turned on the “fake it till you make it” switch, acting more confident than I felt only to discover that people actually believed me. Sometimes you have to bluff a little just to get a seat at the table.
But Hughes’s line has a deeper edge. He calls confidence a “consolation prize,” which makes me wonder, is that what it is? Is confidence just a stand-in for talent when the real goods aren’t there? I don’t think so. Confidence might start as a consolation prize, but it often becomes the engine that pulls talent along. If you’re willing to risk embarrassment, to raise your hand even when you’re not sure, to try the thing in front of an audience, confidence can open doors that talent alone can’t.
The danger is when confidence is all someone has. Then it’s not an engine, it’s a mask. And eventually, masks slip. People figure it out. The louder someone insists on their brilliance without proof, the thinner the act becomes.
So maybe the lesson is balance. If you’re someone who doubts yourself, remember that confidence isn’t arrogance, it’s permission. Permission to try, to fail, to show your work before it’s perfect. And if you’re someone blessed with confidence but lacking skill, maybe let that confidence push you to actually do the work that earns it.
Either way, Hughes’s thought is a reminder not to take confidence at face value. Sometimes the quiet person in the corner is the one worth listening to. Sometimes the one who says, “I don’t know” is actually the wisest voice in the room.
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