A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence. — Sonia Sotomayer

A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.

Author: Sonia Sotomayer

Insight: There's something quietly powerful about this idea: you don't have to feel ready before you act. Most of us wait. We wait until we feel confident enough, skilled enough, sure enough. But Sotomayor suggests a different path—one where effort itself becomes the confidence builder, not something that comes after. Think about learning to speak up in meetings, starting a creative project, or having a difficult conversation. The nervous energy beforehand is real, and it doesn't vanish just because you decide to go ahead. But when you push through anyway—when you do the work, prepare the extra time, practice the hard thing—something shifts. Each small action chips away at the doubt, not because you suddenly feel braver, but because you've accumulated evidence that you can do it. Effort creates its own momentum. The hidden bonus here is that this reframes what confidence actually is. It's not some magical feeling you either have or don't. It's something you build through showing up, even when uncertain. That's less romantic than waiting for courage to strike, but it's also more useful. It means the thing holding you back isn't some fixed part of who you are—it's just a gap you can narrow through work.