Who is the most confident person I know?

I’m not sure. You see, I’m from Glasgow, in the west of Scotland. We’re a gregarious people. We can be loud; we can be ‘in your face.’ We like to party. Some of us like to think we’re they’re funny!

We can also be a bit on the dour side, and we don’t suffer fools gladly. Or at all, really.

It’s really for fear of that last reason we keep our genuine, inner confidence to ourselves. It’s a fine line, I know, but there’s a distinction between ‘gallus’ and cocky and even arrogance. The former’s an over-the-top and often self-deprecating, swaggering attitude, sometimes masking a completely opposite persona. The other two are simply annoying.

“Yeah, I was playing for laughs anyway. I wasn’t being serious at all!”

And this is why many from this part of the world hold back on displaying confidence. We will say we are ‘quite good’ at something; or we’re ‘pretty sure’ we’ll do well. We like to hedge our bets – just in case we fall on our arse. We’ll often go so far as to say we’re ‘rubbish’ (or words to that effect) at this or that so the onlooker can only be impressed and not disappointed after the event.

Fundamentally, us Glaswegians are a determined and resolute lot. But are we confident? It’s hard to say.

(Whisper … we might not show it, but you’re damned right we are! And the most confident person I know? Deep down? When you cut away all the phony underplay? Me!)

🙂