On Earning Confidence
Last Saturday night, I watched Alex Honnold free solo the Taipei 101 skyscraper — live on Netflix.
I’d seen Free Solo years ago, so I understood the stakes. But this wasn’t a documentary. There was no knowing how it would end. My body reacted immediately. Heart racing. Stomach tightening. Feet sweating. Even from a couch, the risk felt real.
What stayed with me wasn’t the danger itself.
It was how ordinary his movements looked. No drama. No rush. No hesitation. Just calm execution, one deliberate action after another.
That kind of calm doesn’t show up on the day of the climb. It’s built quietly, over years, through repetition, visualization, and incremental exposure to discomfort. Fear doesn’t vanish — it gets managed. It turns into information instead of noise.
I recognize that pattern. In writing. In photography. In any pursuit where confidence isn’t declared but accumulated through work no one sees. You show up. You practice. You stay patient while progress remains invisible. And slowly, something shifts.
Confidence isn’t claimed. It’s earned.
I explored this more fully — including why that distinction matters to me — in this week’s SDCP post, if you’re interested:
https://photography.stephendcook.com/...
I’d seen Free Solo years ago, so I understood the stakes. But this wasn’t a documentary. There was no knowing how it would end. My body reacted immediately. Heart racing. Stomach tightening. Feet sweating. Even from a couch, the risk felt real.
What stayed with me wasn’t the danger itself.
It was how ordinary his movements looked. No drama. No rush. No hesitation. Just calm execution, one deliberate action after another.
That kind of calm doesn’t show up on the day of the climb. It’s built quietly, over years, through repetition, visualization, and incremental exposure to discomfort. Fear doesn’t vanish — it gets managed. It turns into information instead of noise.
I recognize that pattern. In writing. In photography. In any pursuit where confidence isn’t declared but accumulated through work no one sees. You show up. You practice. You stay patient while progress remains invisible. And slowly, something shifts.
Confidence isn’t claimed. It’s earned.
I explored this more fully — including why that distinction matters to me — in this week’s SDCP post, if you’re interested:
https://photography.stephendcook.com/...
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Notes From the Work
Reflections on writing, leadership, and the quiet work behind the page. This is a space for thinking out loud about the ideas shaping my fiction and nonfiction—and a home for updates on the books them
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