Someone More Experienced Should Lead

Crystal Mirkazemi | WBN News | July 23, 2026

Most people never meet that giant because they spend their lives negotiating with a much smaller creature: their ego.

The ego is concerned with how we look. It worries about embarrassment, rejection, criticism, and failure. It convinces us to stay where we are because remaining comfortable feels safer than risking judgment. It whispers questions that sound reasonable but are ultimately limiting:

"What if I fail?"

"What if they say no?"

"What if I'm not ready?"

"What if someone more qualified should do it instead?"

Yet five years from now, very few of those fears will matter. Ego is not arrogance. More often, it is self-protection. It convinces us to wait until we feel ready, qualified, or certain. We tell ourselves that someone more experienced should lead, someone more knowledgeable should speak, or someone more successful should take the first step.

Yet progress rarely begins with certainty.

Research by psychologist Albert Bandura found that confidence is largely developed through action and experience rather than existing beforehand. In other words, people do not become confident and then act. They act, and confidence follows.

Psychologists have long observed that human beings are remarkably sensitive to social judgment, often assigning far greater importance to the opinions of others than those opinions ultimately deserve. We worry about appearing inexperienced by asking the wrong question, making a mistake in public, or exposing ourselves to rejection. These concerns feel significant in the moment because our brains are wired to seek acceptance and avoid social risk. Yet this tendency frequently causes individuals to abandon opportunities before they are even attempted, not because the opportunity lacks merit, but because the possibility of temporary discomfort feels larger than the potential reward.

The same principle can be observed throughout nearly every area of life. Physical strength is developed through resistance rather than comfort, businesses expand because entrepreneurs are willing to assume calculated risks, and investment portfolios compound because someone was prepared to commit capital despite uncertainty about future outcomes. Growth rarely emerges from perfect conditions or complete confidence. Instead, it is usually the result of individuals choosing to move forward while uncertainty still exists, trusting that experience, knowledge, and resilience will develop along the way.

Many of the standards we admire in successful people were not created by extraordinary talent, privileged circumstances, or some rare characteristic unavailable to the rest of us. More often, they were created by ordinary individuals who made a conscious decision to raise their expectations of themselves when an opportunity appeared.

They volunteered when others remained silent, pursued solutions when others identified obstacles, and accepted responsibility before they felt entirely prepared. Over time, these small decisions accumulated into achievements that later appeared exceptional to outside observers.

For this reason, whenever we are capable of contributing, then we should contribute. Whenever we are in a position to improve a situation, we should make the effort to improve it. Too often people wait for someone more qualified, more experienced, or more influential to solve a problem, failing to recognize that progress is frequently delayed because everyone is waiting for the same person to arrive. In many cases, the leadership we are hoping to see in others is simply the leadership we have not yet chosen to exercise ourselves.

Article #036

Crystal Mirkazemi | WBN News – Vancouver

My mission is to empower you to think big and build solutions for your family and business. Every milestone of life's journey is a chance to appreciate a financial plan. As I always say: Your most significant asset to be independent lies in your attitude towards money.

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