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There is something persuasive about someone who is completely convinced that their way is the best way. They speak with certainty. They explain their method with confidence and because they appear experienced, we assume they must be right.

So, we adopt their way.

We follow their process, repeat their habits, and perhaps even defend their approach to others. Until experience teaches us something different. Their way may have been the best way, but perhaps it was simply the best way for them.

People develop methods around their personality, circumstances, abilities, experiences, resources, and objectives. What works brilliantly for one person may be completely inappropriate for another and sometimes, through our own experience, we discover that there are several ways to achieve the same outcome.

Some are equally effective. Some are better. Some are simply better suited to us.

Perhaps one of the dangers of learning from confident people is that we can mistake their certainty for universal truth. Experience eventually gives us something confidence cannot, perspective.

We begin to understand that expertise does not necessarily mean knowing the only way. It can mean knowing several ways, understanding their advantages and limitations, and knowing when each one is appropriate.

Perhaps the real wisdom is not discovering the best way. It is discovering your best way, while remaining open to finding a better one.