Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

One of the greatest ways to cultivate sound judgment is to surround ourselves with wise people and heed their advice.

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Youthful confidence leads us to think we know everything there is to know. As we get older, that illusion fades away when we realize that many of the good things in life were unplanned, and the bad things are a result of what we confidently ignored.

Even as adults, most people remain overconfident. One survey found that 65 percent of people thought they were above average in intelligence. A 2018 study by AAA found that eight out of 10 men thought they were better-than-average drivers.