Daniel's Domain

I was recently messing around in Grammarly, reading through spelling and grammar mistakes – and I noticed that it was dinging me for having ‘unconfident language’. I agreed that the language was indeed ‘unconfident’ – but why did you have to ding me for it, Grammarly?

Writing is much more sanitary than the spoken word. It takes serious effort and thought to put intentional and thoughtful words to paper. Nowadays I think that people find it takes more effort to read something than to watch something too. I understand that the effort on both parts gives written pieces gravitas. The reader will certainly want to feel anything other than underwhelmed after reading it. Confidence can be a good tone to make an opinion stand out. Besides, why would I want to take the word or opinion of someone who isn’t confident in it themselves? I get it Grammarly.

Confidence is attractive. It shines its light through scary uncertainty. Historically, people would rather follow a confident politician or general than an inexperienced and uncertain one. Shit, even I would rather trust the guy who has any plan rather than no plan at all.

But listen Grammarly, I’m young. I don’t have considerable time under my belt and I don’t have significant stakes in my life yet (even at 26). If I held strong opinions, I’m confident someone reading would think “Oh, this guy is just too naive”. I’m sure a person younger than me would think “He just doesn’t understand the newer generations’ attitude”. I’ll leave the strong opinions for the weathered and bitter or the young and dumb.

It’s times where one has to determine the “right” course of action that the value of uncertainty shines through. But people don’t like to be wrong. I know plenty of people who would say or do anything else than admit that they are wrong. You leave so much room for discovery by being skeptical. You can gain so much insight by admitting your mistakes. Without any clue what to do with one’s time, the world becomes the most fruitful place to exist.

Unconfident language is not a waste of time. If done correctly, it communicates that uneasy feeling you get when exploring a new territory or relationship. Put into words, it will define the pathway into that confident action we all strive for.

By fully engaging with uncertainty, the writer—and the reader—earn the right to feel certain they’ve missed nothing worth knowing