While overconfidence can be an extremely dangerous thing, the lack of confidence is one of the biggest inhibitors of progress that we face. People who try something and fail have done something extraordinary. Most people don’t try much of anything — out of fear of failure.
Tremendous human potential is held back by a lack of confidence. We need a brain hack to make people more confident, to give them the unshakable belief that they can access their own untapped potential. People who overcome their fear of failure can do extraordinary things. If we unleash those possibilities, we will see a lot more failure as well as some amazing successes.
Or do we first need a brain hack to help people behave rationally? There might be some tension there. We don’t want super-confident people trying every stupid, dangerous idea that pops into their heads.
But there is a lot of good stuff that is not being attempted for lack of confidence. That’s a loss we can’t afford.