Having high self-esteem is easy for some people, while others struggle, either because of their inherent personality, trauma they experienced or other issues; it’s just harder for some people. However, social psychologist Amy Cuddy has done a lot of research on self-assurance and improving confidence.
She’s a big believer in “power posing,” which is a technique or “hack,” as she calls it, for getting into a more fearless headspace and ultimately making someone more certain of themselves by just standing in powerful positions. And while some doubt this theory—per the TED Talk website—her overall concept and research about finding your “presence” aims to help people find morale in themselves. Our quote of the day by Cuddy simply asserts what being a confident person means, and how it is far from being arrogant.
As Cuddy’s website reports, she got a PhD from Princeton University in 2005 and went on to work as a full-time professor at a few prestigious universities such as Rutgers, Harvard and Northwestern. She wrote a New York Times bestselling book, Presence, and is coming out with another book in 2027 about adult bullying. Overall, her work revolves around “stereotyping and prejudice, nonverbal behavior,” along with “presence and performance under stress,” per her website.
With all of her research and knowledge about self-improvement and how to work well under stress, today’s quote really hits at what confidence is and what it isn’t.
Related: Quote of the Day: Stoic Philosopher Seneca on ‘The Power of the Mind:’ ‘To Be Unconquerable’
Quote of the Day by Amy Cuddy
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“A truly confident person does not require arrogance, which is nothing more than a smoke screen for insecurity.”
Cuddy wrote this quote in her 2015 book, Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. The opening line of this book’s description reads, “Learn the simple techniques you’ll need to approach your biggest challenges with confidence.”
Essentially, it’s all about how to build your own “personal power” so that you can approach difficult situations with strength and self-assurance. And instead of suggesting spiritual journeys or gimmicks, Cuddy’s approach involves scientific research and “tweaks” to your body language, behavior and mindset.
In addition to this book, Cuddy’s 2012 TED Talk, “Your body language may shape who you are”—the third most-viewed TED Talk of all time, per her website—introduces the concept of “power posing,” which she also references in her book. She argues that, in the same way that body language can often tell a lot about a person, it can also influence how others perceive you. “Power poses” are her “free no-tech life hack”; she theorizes that changing your pose into a strong one can impact how confident you appear, and therefore how confident you end up feeling.
Related: Quote of the Day by Lou Gehrig: ‘I Love the Thrill of Victory, and I Also Love the Challenge of Defeat’
Deeper Meaning of Amy Cuddy’s Quote—Confidence vs. Arrogance
While similar or in a similar vein to each other, confidence and arrogance are two very different things. Having confidence in yourself is about being sure of your abilities, being happy with your appearance or proud of your skills. Arrogance comes with a pompous air about it; you think you’re better than others.
Arrogance is directly related to other people (and how you see yourself above them), whereas confidence is about how certain you are of yourself, regardless of what other people think.
So what Cuddy is saying here is that if you’re actually a confident person, you are self-assured in a positive way and you have faith in yourself. And true certainty in yourself does not include arrogance, because that’s not actually confidence. As her quote says, arrogance is all a show; it’s a way to fake that certainty.
Gaining confidence is easier said than done. And there are so many ways for you to achieve that in yourself. But Cuddy’s quote is a good first step in realizing that if you’re going around with an exaggerated opinion of yourself, all pompous and smug, then your “confidence” isn’t true self-assurance—it’s likely insecurity.
Related: Quote of the Day by Karen Horney, Psychoanalyst: ‘If You Want To Be Proud of Yourself, Then Do Things in Which You Can Take Pride’
More Quotes from Amy Cuddy
- “Preparation is obviously important, but at some point, you must stop preparing content and start preparing mindset. You have to shift from what you’ll say to how you’ll say it.”
- “Don’t fake it till you make it. Fake it till you become.”
- “focus less on the impression you’re making on others and more on the impression you’re making on yourself.”
- “A confident person—knowing and believing in her identity—carries tools, not weapons.”
- “Our bodies change our minds, our minds change our behavior, and behavior changes outcomes.”
- “All changes… have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.”
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