Thank you for sharing this masterpiece.✨ To be honest, it is one of my best read.
Jonas, I feel exactly like you do. Sometimes I cannot understand how people like Mira define arrogance, they think that when someone speaks proudly of what they are good at, they have gone too far. They assume others are being overly proud and call it arrogance. But no. I think that in itself is connecting to yourself, that is how you say you are proud of what you have done.
That’s too kind Azure. And extremely interesting. To me, confidence comes easy. I get confused by people calling it arrogance all the time. The interesting part is that most readers and friends that read this article so far have all rather been on the opposite side. Like “how can I enforce confidence into a humble person. How dare I?”. As an author (and the person that lived through that) it’s amazing to see how one story creates such different and very contrary opinions.
All in all, it comes down to your last point exactly: Connect with oneself and be proud of what we are.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting and engaging!
This is awesome. I know you will continue beyond the 6 months mark. I love the pen as a writing device that guides the story, and your thoughts on power. I feel a bit uncomfortable too.
This is a phenomenal, brutally honest piece of writing. The psychological tension in this room was completely electric.Your challenge to Mira—forcing her to kill off the safety nets of "maybe," "I think," and "the team"—is a masterclass in pushing past defensive humility. It highlights how deeply uncomfortable it feels to claim our own competence when we've been conditioned to view it as arrogance.But the absolute best part of this essay was your refusal to give us the fake "pen drop" ending. By choosing real-life awkwardness over cheap narrative absolution, you made the story infinitely more powerful. Thank you for a spectacular, unapologetic read.
Thank you so much for the motivating comment! I’ll admit that I have annoyed a lot of former colleagues with the pen thing. It wasn’t always that good. And it still drops, rarely. I have earned a lot of angry looks.
Yeah, I feel like there’s more Mira’s out there than we, or at least I, thought. It never hurts to spend a little bit of effort on supporting friends, colleagues or whoever else does something good, nice or kind!
I feel like this post was following me with the same persistence you used with Mira. Or maybe it was just how good the dialogue in your article was. Congratulations! Since last night, and in a super random way, this message has been popping up for me in different places. In one of them—a late-night meeting—someone invited us to ask ourselves what differences there would be in the boundaries you set if you were in a more socially privileged position. It was really shocking for me—someone who feels they have excellent self-esteem and self-concept—to realize the huge range of things I wouldn't tolerate, yet currently accept. Apparently, I have something to work on before December's work rhythm completely erases me as a person again. Thank you so much for this wonderful piece of writing and for a clue along the way.
Hi Luna, just woke up and read this. It makes my day. I mean I’m super happy you felt the story was written nicely, especially with the dialogues. But way more important to me is that the content got you thinking and relating in one way or another. I just love when my stories are able to do this. I sincerely believe us humans are all so much stuck in our heads and in our views that it oftentimes feels impossible to understand where other people are coming from. I’ve been a victim of that too many times already. I’m personally coming from a rather confident side. Thus, I often feel like a lot of people are missing the confidence they deserve. Forcing it onto them isn’t the way though. Anyhow, thank you sooooo much <3.
I really liked how you tell this story. I thought I was reading about Mira learning to own how good she is, and then how it became about you. The line about power not disappearing just because you sit ninety degrees next to someone is so true. I’ve seen leaders with false humility do it too. Hold power over your head, and pretend to be your best friend. Then, as a manager, I stopped judging them all. It is a tough line to walk. And the fake pen-drop ending was the cherry on top. Of course we want the neat ending where everyone grows and the metaphor behaves itself. Real life doesn’t work like that, though.
Hi Ankita, that’s so kind. Especially your comment about leaders trying to be a best friend while holding power over your head. That’s way too common still. I’m so happy you enjoyed the story. Especially the ending I changed like 10 times and still wasn’t sure if I nailed it. Thank you so mcuh!
This really resonated with me. I think there’s such a fine line between being humble and constantly downplaying yourself. Sometimes we’re so quick to say “I’m not that good,” “someone else could do it better,” or “there’s still so much to learn” that we forget we can acknowledge where we are right now without believing we’ve reached the end of our growth.
I particularly liked the idea that accepting a compliment doesn’t automatically make you arrogant. You can recognise your strengths while still knowing there’s more to learn. I think confidence is sometimes misunderstood as thinking you’re better than everyone else, when actually it can simply be being comfortable enough to say, “Yes, I’m good at this,” without immediately adding a disclaimer. 😂
And I loved the way the conversation unfolded through the story. It made the point feel very real rather than preachy. Definitely made me think about the times I’ve been quick to minimise my own achievements. ❤️
Thank you so much Tany. Yeah, I sincerely believe most of us should be more confident. It’s very easy to feel bad or not as good. In today’s world social media implies everyone is so great. That’s not reality. Not at all.
I love your last paragraph. I don’t want to be preachy. There’s always different viewpoints for each story. For everything. I don’t have the only truth. Especially if I myself messed up. I need everyone to make up their own mind.
I see myself so much in Mira. We sometimes tend to underestimate ourselves and focus so much on what could be fixed or improved that we forget to appreciate the things we’re already amazing at. Confidence is such a big thing, and learning to recognise our own strengths can be harder than it seems.
Absolutely! Everyone is very good at some things. And everyone also sucks at other things. That doesn't mean at all that we can't still be loud and confident about it. Both of it. Confident about what we're good at. And confident that we'll learn new things!
This piece reminds me of how important it is to have confidence. I always undercut my work as a habit so it was a great reminder to take pride in what I do!
Yes. All of us do some things amazing. And some things not at all. It’s totally fine to be very confident. About the things we are good at as well as the stuff we’re still learning.
Beautiful piece, Jonas. I loved Mira, that quiet, humble character. I was Mira, years ago.
Funny thing. To me she reads as humble, and to you as someone who lacked confidence. Same woman, two readings. That gap says everything about the corporate ladder, where humility is a lovely trait that gets you precisely nowhere, and confidence (or a convincing performance of it) is the actual entry fee.
That’s probably what made corporate life rather easy for me. I asked for and took what I wanted. And that’s good and bad. Good confidence, bad arrogance. Same as with humility. Amazing team player, less career, usually. And by now, it’s just so difficult for me to say what’s right and wrong. Or rather what I prefer. Being humble over being confident. Can I be both? I’m not even sure if I’m the hero or the villain in that story. Hopefully none. Or both.
Anyway, as always, thank you Petra for reading, getting to the root of my content and even sharing parts of your experience. Very much appreciated!
Jonas, I really loved this article. It made me think about my corporate experience and how easy it is for us (me lol ) to downplay ourselves at work. The “maybe”, “sometimes,” and “ the others” felt so real.
The quote that you said: “This isn’t Marvel. Nobody gets bitten by a radioactive performance review and wakes up with confidence powers” line is so true. Nobody just wakes up confident just because someone told you that you’re good. You have to practice to believe it.
To break this habit, I try to say mantras every morning to myself that I am worthy to be at this job, I am smart and I am capable.
Hi Nakia, that’s so kind <3. I’m so happy you liked it. It took me like the whole week to get the article out just because confidence and arrogance are such difficult topics. The line is so fine and I’m usually on the wrong side. As a leader, getting confidence instilled into people that deserve to be proud of their work, is such an important skill though. And it’s so difficult. There’s so many people out there quietly downplaying themselves. I like your habit-breaking method. I do something similar but in a totally different direction (related to the very weird ending of the article): I’m telling myself every day when meditating that I’m content. With what I have right now. With what life is right now. To stop the “more, more, more” driven personality of mine that is always pushing. Again, thank you so much for reading and commenting!
Thank you for sharing this masterpiece.✨ To be honest, it is one of my best read.
Jonas, I feel exactly like you do. Sometimes I cannot understand how people like Mira define arrogance, they think that when someone speaks proudly of what they are good at, they have gone too far. They assume others are being overly proud and call it arrogance. But no. I think that in itself is connecting to yourself, that is how you say you are proud of what you have done.
They are just too humble.✨✨✨
That’s too kind Azure. And extremely interesting. To me, confidence comes easy. I get confused by people calling it arrogance all the time. The interesting part is that most readers and friends that read this article so far have all rather been on the opposite side. Like “how can I enforce confidence into a humble person. How dare I?”. As an author (and the person that lived through that) it’s amazing to see how one story creates such different and very contrary opinions.
All in all, it comes down to your last point exactly: Connect with oneself and be proud of what we are.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting and engaging!
I love how the pen is the protagonist here. Clever writing. Love it. Stretching my thinking. Keep it up!
Thank you Linda for taking the time. I’m so happy it got you thinking. All the best!
Hi Jonas,
This is awesome. I know you will continue beyond the 6 months mark. I love the pen as a writing device that guides the story, and your thoughts on power. I feel a bit uncomfortable too.
That last sentence is just amazing. You feeling uncomfortable is perfect. It sounds weird but this is exactly what I want my writing to achieve.
Thank you so much for reading and engaging!
This is a phenomenal, brutally honest piece of writing. The psychological tension in this room was completely electric.Your challenge to Mira—forcing her to kill off the safety nets of "maybe," "I think," and "the team"—is a masterclass in pushing past defensive humility. It highlights how deeply uncomfortable it feels to claim our own competence when we've been conditioned to view it as arrogance.But the absolute best part of this essay was your refusal to give us the fake "pen drop" ending. By choosing real-life awkwardness over cheap narrative absolution, you made the story infinitely more powerful. Thank you for a spectacular, unapologetic read.
I really liked this Jonas! Weirdly enough I can relate with both Jonas and Mira here hehe! Love the way you write and the topic is my jam.
Great shizzle!
Thank you so much. Usually, people relate with either or but it’s amazing to hear you see both perspectives! Kudos for reading and commenting!
"I’m not reluctant. I’m just realistic.” Ah. Realistic. Such a polite knife." really enjoyed that, subbed
Thank you, truly. I'm happy you liked it!
Okay wow this was a wonderful read. Captivating storytelling, I loved the tension with the pen, kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
And I have a few Miras in my life who need exactly this. Reminded me of the people I get to walk alongside with))
Thank you so much for the motivating comment! I’ll admit that I have annoyed a lot of former colleagues with the pen thing. It wasn’t always that good. And it still drops, rarely. I have earned a lot of angry looks.
Yeah, I feel like there’s more Mira’s out there than we, or at least I, thought. It never hurts to spend a little bit of effort on supporting friends, colleagues or whoever else does something good, nice or kind!
I feel like this post was following me with the same persistence you used with Mira. Or maybe it was just how good the dialogue in your article was. Congratulations! Since last night, and in a super random way, this message has been popping up for me in different places. In one of them—a late-night meeting—someone invited us to ask ourselves what differences there would be in the boundaries you set if you were in a more socially privileged position. It was really shocking for me—someone who feels they have excellent self-esteem and self-concept—to realize the huge range of things I wouldn't tolerate, yet currently accept. Apparently, I have something to work on before December's work rhythm completely erases me as a person again. Thank you so much for this wonderful piece of writing and for a clue along the way.
Hi Luna, just woke up and read this. It makes my day. I mean I’m super happy you felt the story was written nicely, especially with the dialogues. But way more important to me is that the content got you thinking and relating in one way or another. I just love when my stories are able to do this. I sincerely believe us humans are all so much stuck in our heads and in our views that it oftentimes feels impossible to understand where other people are coming from. I’ve been a victim of that too many times already. I’m personally coming from a rather confident side. Thus, I often feel like a lot of people are missing the confidence they deserve. Forcing it onto them isn’t the way though. Anyhow, thank you sooooo much <3.
I really liked how you tell this story. I thought I was reading about Mira learning to own how good she is, and then how it became about you. The line about power not disappearing just because you sit ninety degrees next to someone is so true. I’ve seen leaders with false humility do it too. Hold power over your head, and pretend to be your best friend. Then, as a manager, I stopped judging them all. It is a tough line to walk. And the fake pen-drop ending was the cherry on top. Of course we want the neat ending where everyone grows and the metaphor behaves itself. Real life doesn’t work like that, though.
Hi Ankita, that’s so kind. Especially your comment about leaders trying to be a best friend while holding power over your head. That’s way too common still. I’m so happy you enjoyed the story. Especially the ending I changed like 10 times and still wasn’t sure if I nailed it. Thank you so mcuh!
This really resonated with me. I think there’s such a fine line between being humble and constantly downplaying yourself. Sometimes we’re so quick to say “I’m not that good,” “someone else could do it better,” or “there’s still so much to learn” that we forget we can acknowledge where we are right now without believing we’ve reached the end of our growth.
I particularly liked the idea that accepting a compliment doesn’t automatically make you arrogant. You can recognise your strengths while still knowing there’s more to learn. I think confidence is sometimes misunderstood as thinking you’re better than everyone else, when actually it can simply be being comfortable enough to say, “Yes, I’m good at this,” without immediately adding a disclaimer. 😂
And I loved the way the conversation unfolded through the story. It made the point feel very real rather than preachy. Definitely made me think about the times I’ve been quick to minimise my own achievements. ❤️
Thank you so much Tany. Yeah, I sincerely believe most of us should be more confident. It’s very easy to feel bad or not as good. In today’s world social media implies everyone is so great. That’s not reality. Not at all.
I love your last paragraph. I don’t want to be preachy. There’s always different viewpoints for each story. For everything. I don’t have the only truth. Especially if I myself messed up. I need everyone to make up their own mind.
I’m so happy you liked it!"
I really enjoyed reading this! There’s something so honest and comforting about the way you’ve written it.
Thank you, truly. I'm so happy you enjoyed the read!
I see myself so much in Mira. We sometimes tend to underestimate ourselves and focus so much on what could be fixed or improved that we forget to appreciate the things we’re already amazing at. Confidence is such a big thing, and learning to recognise our own strengths can be harder than it seems.
Such a great read ♡
Absolutely! Everyone is very good at some things. And everyone also sucks at other things. That doesn't mean at all that we can't still be loud and confident about it. Both of it. Confident about what we're good at. And confident that we'll learn new things!
Thanks so much ria for reading and engaging!!!
This piece reminds me of how important it is to have confidence. I always undercut my work as a habit so it was a great reminder to take pride in what I do!
Yes. All of us do some things amazing. And some things not at all. It’s totally fine to be very confident. About the things we are good at as well as the stuff we’re still learning.
Preach! 🙌🏽
Beautiful piece, Jonas. I loved Mira, that quiet, humble character. I was Mira, years ago.
Funny thing. To me she reads as humble, and to you as someone who lacked confidence. Same woman, two readings. That gap says everything about the corporate ladder, where humility is a lovely trait that gets you precisely nowhere, and confidence (or a convincing performance of it) is the actual entry fee.
That’s probably what made corporate life rather easy for me. I asked for and took what I wanted. And that’s good and bad. Good confidence, bad arrogance. Same as with humility. Amazing team player, less career, usually. And by now, it’s just so difficult for me to say what’s right and wrong. Or rather what I prefer. Being humble over being confident. Can I be both? I’m not even sure if I’m the hero or the villain in that story. Hopefully none. Or both.
Anyway, as always, thank you Petra for reading, getting to the root of my content and even sharing parts of your experience. Very much appreciated!
Jonas, I really loved this article. It made me think about my corporate experience and how easy it is for us (me lol ) to downplay ourselves at work. The “maybe”, “sometimes,” and “ the others” felt so real.
The quote that you said: “This isn’t Marvel. Nobody gets bitten by a radioactive performance review and wakes up with confidence powers” line is so true. Nobody just wakes up confident just because someone told you that you’re good. You have to practice to believe it.
To break this habit, I try to say mantras every morning to myself that I am worthy to be at this job, I am smart and I am capable.
Can’t wait to read more of your work!!🤎
Hi Nakia, that’s so kind <3. I’m so happy you liked it. It took me like the whole week to get the article out just because confidence and arrogance are such difficult topics. The line is so fine and I’m usually on the wrong side. As a leader, getting confidence instilled into people that deserve to be proud of their work, is such an important skill though. And it’s so difficult. There’s so many people out there quietly downplaying themselves. I like your habit-breaking method. I do something similar but in a totally different direction (related to the very weird ending of the article): I’m telling myself every day when meditating that I’m content. With what I have right now. With what life is right now. To stop the “more, more, more” driven personality of mine that is always pushing. Again, thank you so much for reading and commenting!