Self confidence self destructs (Smith - SMH)

An interesting article by Fiona Smith (Sydney Morning Herald) on the reliance of people on the context and circumstances giving them 'confidence'.

Which means what is seen as 'confidence' is often surface-layer, reliant on external structures, not on internal values or personal strength -- what we might call a 'fair-weather confidence'.

From the article:

Asia Pacific director Dr Clark Perry, a psychologist, says most interesting was that the discovery that women's belief in self was significantly lower than men's last year (at 67  percent for women, versus 73 per cent) and then has plummeted over the past 12 months.