‍Confidence as the bridge

Confidence is often misunderstood. People think it is bravado, the loudest voice, the swagger, the show. But real confidence is different. It is quieter. It is steadier. It is the belief that you can move forward even while fear is still in the room.

David Goggins is a former Navy SEAL and ultra-marathon runner. In his bestseller Can’t Hurt Me he explains it simply: confidence isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the belief you can push through it. That’s the difference between freezing and moving.

I once asked Maurice Greene, the Olympic sprint champion, during his training camp with the US athletics team in Monaco as they prepared for the World Championships, how he dealt with fear at the start line. His answer was simple:you never lose fear, you just trust the work you have done.

Confidence in Action

Rafael Nadal embodied this during the 2008 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer, widely called one of the greatest tennis matches in history. At one point, with Federer pressing hard, Nadal turned to his coaching team and said: “Relax, maybe Federer is winning, but I will not lose this match.” That was not arrogance. It was pure confidence. He trusted his ability to endure, to fight, to find a way. And he did, winning in five sets and carving his place in history.

Now shift to the boardroom. Elon Musk faced the collapse of Tesla and SpaceX, bankruptcy looming, critics circling. Most leaders would have walked away. Musk doubled down. Not out of blind optimism, but out of confidence in his preparation, his vision, and his ability to adapt. He believed he could find a path through, even when the odds looked impossible.

Two very different arenas, Centre Court and Silicon Valley. Same principle. Confidence is not certainty in the outcome. It is the belief that you can handle whatever comes next.

Why It Matters

Talent and preparation are not enough. They only matter if you can act on them. And that step into action requires confidence.

Think of the athlete who trains for years but freezes on game day. Or the executive who has the right idea but never speaks up in the meeting. What’s missing isn’t skill. It’s confidence. Without it, potential stays locked away. With it, barriers turn into launchpads.

The Universality of Confidence

The best part? Confidence is not reserved for athletes at Wimbledon or visionaries building rockets. It’s universal. It’s available to anyone willing to test themselves, to show up again and again, to trust that each step forward makes the next one possible.

Confidence isn’t built in one dramatic leap. It grows in ordinary choices: sending the proposal, making the call, speaking up when you would rather stay quiet. Each act adds a brick to the bridge between doubt and action.

Closing Thought

Confidence is not about never doubting. It is about moving while doubt is still there. You don’t wait for confidence to show up. You create it.

So where in your life is doubt keeping you stuck? And what small step could you take today to prove to yourself that you can move forward anyway?