The Confidence Formula

The following formula appears in Lesson XI: Confidence and Humility:

Hard Work → Progress → Confidence

Though this formula has been briefly touched upon in the book, I will add some further clarifications and comments at this time.

The proposition “hard work” starts us off, but what exactly does “hard work” refer to? It should be said that one of the primary aims of Lesson XI: Confidence and Humility is to illustrate the absolute importance of the “complete understanding” of the ten lessons previous it. The concept of “complete understanding” is defined in the Lexicon as the ability “to know or understand something on an intellectual and functional basis.” This idea was first presented in the Introduction and thus finds it's consummation in the eleventh lesson. Hence, it is because our goal is not merely the intellectual, but also the functional understanding of the first ten lessons, that we are better able to identify the concept of “hard work.” Here, “hard work” essentially refers to the actions necessary in order to functionally understand the first ten lessons. In other words, it refers to the work that must be done consistently in order to functionally apply what we have intellectually learned. The word “hard” is used to emphasize that though the lessons are relatively simple, they may not necessarily be easy to apply or integrate. As we have seen, it is one thing to intellectually understand something, and it is quite another to incorporate it into our everyday life.

The “hard work” that is done consistently over time which is necessary to functionally understand the first ten lessons brings us to “progress,” the next step in our formula. Progress, whether internal or external, is the natural result of consistent hard work. Internal progress should be understood as “progress in thought or act,” while external progress pertains to progress in reaching an extrinsic goal of some sort. Through working to apply and incorporate the first ten lessons we will eventually begin to see progress. Such results may not show up immediately, nor be ostensibly large, but neither should this properly surprise us, especially considering what is said in Lesson VII: Failure and Adversity. After all, even small progress is progress.

Visible progress—whether seen in our personal selves or in our external circumstances—in turn, validates our hard work and reveals to us a glimpse of our potential. This glimpse, which may begin as a very faint and miniscule spark, will, over time—and through our continued efforts—begin to grow, and as our understanding of our potential grows and expands, so too does our confidence and faith in our abilities. Confidence, as it is said in the Introduction, stems from our capacity to acknowledge and understand the reality of human potential. But it specifically the acknowledgment and understanding of our own potential, which can result in nothing less than a genuine state of confidence on our part.