Does Performance really matter for a confident living?

One 10th standard girl comes to my house every day to study her lessons. It is not that she is poor in studies nor her parents are illiterate. Her mother is an M.Phil and her father is equally / better educated. This little girl is studying in a reputed school in Chennai, so the teachers should be knowledgeable enough. I have been observing this teenager for the past three weeks. She is above average in studies and scores about 85 to 90% in most of the subjects. What is the relationship of description about this girl with the topic? With all the gifts she has (good school, good parents, good economic back ground), is she confident? I do not think so. She is scared of all the subjects – even the ones she is good at and interested in!! I know another girl, who scores only about 40% is much more confident. What does this imply? Is it the scores that make you confident?

Another example – I have a friend – an MBA from a big B school. His confidence levels are much lower than another friend of mine who is only a B.Com from a mediocre college. My B.Com friend joined a construction company as storekeeper and now is a manager leading very happy successful life. Is it the degree that makes you confident?

A family I know struggles to make the ends meet is planning to have a baby with all the confidence in the world but another software couple who are earning in lakhs is not confident of having a baby – they are not sure if they can meet the economical needs of child rearing!!! Is it the amount of money or your earning capacity that makes you confident?

I am sure actor Vadivelu is and was more confident than actor Srikanth. So, it is not the looks that you make you confident. Vijayakanth - who is not as big hero as Rajanikanth is into politics now (not that I support or despise any of these stands) and rocking. Is it popularity or fame that gives you confidence to take an action?

What decides the confidence level of a person? Does one’s expectation tie him down? One thing I observe in common in the confident lot is that they are not worried about the ‘perfect’ results. They are almost OK with any result, and they jump into action or they keep happy. Is this the real meaning of “Do your Duty - But without Concern for the Results”?