There’s a saying, often attributed to Bruce Lee, that encapsulates a crucial aspect of mastery: “Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.” The idea beneath this quote is that true competence, the kind that fuels unwavering belief in oneself, comes not just from occasional success but from deeply ingrained skill—making the right action automatic and reliable even under pressure or against the backdrop of fear. This sentiment speaks directly to the heart of self-efficacy, the belief in one’s own competence to succeed in specific situations. And as we’ll explore, this belief is not merely a pleasant feeling; it’s a vital antecedent to building Confidence—a key element to cultivating Courage.
How do we cultivate this crucial sense of self-efficacy? It begins early in life with the realization that our actions can impact the world. The infant who knocks over a toy begins a lifelong process of building agency—the understanding that we can make things happen. While overconfidence can sometimes lead to missteps, the more common obstacle is underestimating or doubting our abilities, particularly when faced with complex challenges.
This underscores the importance of training with a purpose. It’s not enough to simply go through the motions. To truly develop self-efficacy, our training must be intentional, pushing us beyond rote repetition towards mastery. It involves deliberate practice, constantly challenging ourselves, succeeding at challenging things, and striving for improvement. On a fundamental level, this bears fruit across two dimensions. First, it helps build a sense of “general efficacy”—the powerful, tacit belief that “I can do it!” Second, it builds the muscle of “situational self efficacy”—a degree of technical competence that can be deployed, as needed, when called to action.
A powerful example of both dimensions at work is Captain “Sully” Sullenberger’s extraordinary landing of Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009. Despite facing an unprecedented crisis—the complete loss of both engines—his decades of rigorous training and experience as a pilot had cultivated an unshakable belief in his ability to handle complex and dangerous situations. Even without specific training for that exact scenario, his considerable general and situational competency, honed through countless hours, allowed him to act with decisiveness, mastery, and calmness, ultimately saving everyone on board.
This principle—that building competence fosters the self-efficacy needed for courageous action—extends even to situations involving deep-seated, seemingly insurmountable fears. Consider a famous study by Stanford’s Albert Bandura where researchers worked with individuals grappling with severe snake phobias. The researchers found that the key to overcoming this paralyzing phobia lay in methodically building a genuine level of competency in handling snakes, which in turn neutralized their fear.
This involved guiding participants through a carefully constructed series of tasks. Starting with less intimidating actions, like approaching the snake’s enclosure, and progressing incrementally towards more challenging ones, like touching and eventually holding the snake. Participants received expert guidance and practiced each additive step until they felt competent. This systematic process built their belief in their ability to handle situations they previously could scarcely fathom, demonstrating that competence could be built incrementally to overcome even profound fear. The results were striking: the stronger the participants’ belief in their ability to handle snakes became, the more courageously they acted in actual interactions with them. Some participants even developed the competence and courage to handle a live boa constrictor.
This highlights a fundamental truth: building our own capabilities directly enhances our Confidence, and in turn our willingness and ability to act courageously in the face of fear. By deliberately training ourselves up, particularly through the kind of focused, deliberate practice seen in elite athletes striving for mastery, we build that deep-rooted efficacy—the Bruce Lee-like conviction that ‘I can handle this,’ that ‘I’ve got this’—the sort of self-belief that powered Captain “Sully” to rise to challenge and meet the moment presented to him by fate.
‘Confidence’ is one of the ‘9 C’s of Courage,’ part of my playbook for cultivating courage and developing our capacity to act boldly in the face of fear. Learn more in How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage (Harper Business, 2025). Also, for a deeper dive into Captain Sully’s extraordinary actions, you can watch his interview with Katie Couric here.
