1.

Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow: 1. Why does a person become overconfident ? The reason lies in over assessment of his capabilities. Sometimes people over assess their competence and jump into situations that are beyond their control. 2. Napoleon Bonaparte who became the Emperor of France would say that the word 'impossible' was common only amongst the fools. The overconfident Napoleon invaded Russia in the winter of 1812. This proved to be a big disaster. 3. Overconfidence generally leads people into misadventures, endangering their chances in life. It is wisely said that, any achievement is a result of two factors, one's personal planning and support from the external world. People, take into account only their planning, generally ignoring the external factors. They become unable to foresee future developments. Hence the great risk of failure arises. 4. Then there is a question : how can one manage overconfidence ? The formula is very simple, before taking a decision discuss the matter with other informed people with an objective mind and when it is proved that you are about to go off the path, accept reality and say without delay, "I was wrong." 5. Overconfidence is a flaw characteizing people who lack the virtue of modesty. Modesty makes you a realist; you become a person who is cut down to size. People of this kind become very cautious;. before taking an action they assess the whole situation. They adopt a realistic approach. 6. Overconfident people live within their own thoughts. They know themselves but they are unaware of others. Living inside their own cell, they are unable to make use of the experiences of others. This kind of habit is highly damaging to all concerned. 7. There is a saying that the young man sees the rule and the old man sees the exception. With a slight change, I would like to say that the overconfident person sees the rule and the confident person sees the exception. Overconfident people are always at risk. It is said that taking risk is good, but it must be well calculated otherwise it becomes very dangerous.On the basis of your reading of the above passage answer the following questions in 30-40 words: (a) Why does a person become overconfident ? (b) What does overconfidence generally lead people into ? (c) How can one manage overconfidence ? (d) What kind of person does 'modesty' make you? or What is the role of modesty? (e) What kind of life do overconfident people lead ?

Answer»

(a) A person becomes overconfident when he over assesses his capabilities, sometimes he over assesses his competence also and jumps into situations that are beyond his control. 

(b) Overconfidence generally leads people into misadventures thus endangering their chances in life. They become unable to foresee future developments. Hence there is a great risk of failure. 

(c) One can manage overconfidence by discussing the matter with other informed people with an objective mind. Morever when the person is proved wrong, he should accept the reality and say without delay. 'I was wrong' 

(d) Modesty makes you a realist. It makes you a person who is cut down to size. People of this kind become very cautious. Before taking any action, they assess the whole situation and adopt a realistic approach. 

(e) Overconfident people generally lead a life where they live within their thoughts. They know themselves but are unaware of others. They are unable to make use of the experience of others.



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