Confidence is loud. Competence shows up when there’s no backup.

Proximity can feel like proficiency. Watching can feel like knowing. Confidence comes quickly when the risk belongs to someone else.

There’s almost always a phase where people think they’ve “got it” - usually right after a short season of exposure, before the real weight shows up. That phase isn’t malicious. It’s just incomplete.

What you don’t see are the years it takes to recognize problems before they happen, to make decisions that don’t look impressive but prevent disasters, and to absorb the consequences quietly when something goes wrong.

A crash course teaches the highlights. Experience teaches the costs.

You don’t find out what you don’t know until there’s no one left to ask - and suddenly it matters.

Confidence is loud. Competence shows up when there’s no backup.