Disclaimer: The conjectures and quantification of the abstract notions made in the write up is based on the general observation of the author coupled with personal experiences in a National Law University.

Confidence in 80% of cases leads to over confidence, which in 95% of cases leads to unexpected results, which sadly in 100% of cases leads to disappointment.

They say ‘prevention is better than cure’, so try not to be confident and you will never be disappointed. Studying in a National Law University is not easy, where one has to appear in more than 100 exams, prepare 50 projects & give as many presentations, write articles, participate in moot courts, debates and live up to one’s parents expectations of being another Jethmalani, Krishna Iyer or Zia Modi.

The more confident one is, the more reason he/she gives to everyone to think he/she is Mr./Mrs. Perfect and can do no wrong.  The first place where one commits a mistake, everyone looks at it as if ‘how could you?’ which would ultimately lead to ‘disappointment’.

On the contrary if one is timid or insecure, he/she does not give any reason to this world to think that he/she is a big shot, thereby minimizing the risk of being ‘disappointed’.

Some might confuse it as ‘modesty’ but it’s different. Modesty is when you are in a confident state of mind and just project that you are not sure of the result; insecurity is when you are not sure if you could make it notwithstanding the ‘hunch’.

Thus, the difference between ‘insecurity’ and ‘modesty’ is that of intention. There is an active Mens Rea in modesty where there might be the absence of an act in furtherance of confidence. For example: putting oneself down but the mental state is ‘confident’ as to the outcome of the result. On the contrary in an insecure state of mind, there is absolute uncertainty. There is a higher degree of expectation in the case of ‘modesty’ than in the case of ‘insecurity’. Thus, leading to a probable state of disappointment in the former case.

Moreover, insecurity gets you better returns in terms of satisfaction and pleasant surprises. The applicability of this theory can never be denied in law schools.

You prepare for a moot, you know the high degree of uncertainty involved here, and thus, being insecure is the best option. Applying for an internship to a big notch law firm, do not go gaga about your possibility of being shortlisted, be insecure and do not tell anyone and finally if selected, you yourself would know ‘that’ feeling. Prepare for the semester exam as if you would flunk in all cases, thus you will read probably more than what is needed to get a ‘D’.

And who knows, it could lead you to a better academic position than a ‘confident’ student. And when he sees an ‘insecure’  with better footing than a’ confident’, what he gets is nothing but a disappointment.