Aplomb

       Aplomb according to Merriam-Webster dictionary  is defined as "complete and confident composure or self-assurance".  In other words that means being assured of one self and in his/her ability. Even according to Marie Curie , the great physicist and chemist who had won two Nobel Prizes and just had her 144th Birth Anniversary on 7th Nov 2011 - "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."

       However showing Aplomb or Self Confidence is a very thin line to follow and doing is so is always precarious . Having Self Confidence is akin to using Dynamite in Mines and Quarries, use to less and it has no effect , use too much and you will ruin everything . Similarly Confidence in oneself , have less and you can never succeed or have too much and you are bound to fail .Overconfidence blurs out the risk. Inferiority magnifies it.” 

      One has to take care to distinguish over confidence from ambition or courage and understand the limits of one's ability. A classic example was Hitler's over confidence in his offensive capability in WWII, when he went ahead to attack the Soviet Union in the harshest of possible weathers,  ultimately leading to the beginning of his own end. Over confidence precedes carelessness. According to the first man on moon - Neil Armstrong - "Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that's when something snaps up and bites you."
      Even the lack of confidence is unasked for ; Inferiority. No one can make you feel inferior, if you do not want them to. 

Thus Aplomb is necessary . 

      Given is an extract of a fictional account of Self Confidence ( perhaps a bit too much :P )  - 

Saddam Hussein was sitting in his office wondering whom to invade next when his telephone rang.

"Hallo, Mr. Hussein!" a heavily accented voice said, "This is Gurmukh from Phagwara, District Kapurthala, Punjab. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring the war on you!"

"Well, Gurmukh," Saddam replied, "This is indeed important news!

How big is your army"

"Right now," said Gurmukh, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, my cousin Sukhdev, my next door neighbour Bhagat, and the entire kabaddi team from the gurudwara. That makes eight"

Saddam paused. "I must tell you, Gurmukh that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command."

"Arrey O! Main kya.. " Said Gurmukh. "I'll have to ring you back!"

Sure enough, the next day, Gurmukh called again.

"Mr. Hussein, it is Gurmukh, I'm calling from Phagwara STD, and the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!"

"And what equipment would that be, Gurmukh" Saddam asked.

"Well, we have two combines, a donkey and Amrik's tractor." 

Saddam sighed. "I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armoured personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to 1-1/2 million since we last spoke."

"Oh teri ...." said Gurmukh. "I'll have to get back to you."

Sure enough, Gurmukh rang again the next day.

"Mr. Hussein, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne...... We've modified Amrik's tractor by adding a couple of shotguns, sticking on some wings and the pind's generator. Four school pass boys from Malpur have joined us as well!"

Saddam was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!"

"Tera pala hove...." said Gurmuk, "I'll have to ring you back."

Sure enough, Gurmukh called again the next day.

"Kiddan, Mr. Hussein! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Saddam. "Why the sudden change of heart."

"Well," said Gurmukh, "we've all had a long chat over a couple of lassi's, and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners of wars!"

 THATS CALLED SELF CONFIDENCE!!