The greatest failure a lack of self-assurance brings about is that the subject cannot forget himself. He does not generously aim for a goal: he tries to prove he is worth what is demanded of him. Throwing oneself boldly toward goals risks setbacks: but one also attains unexpected results; prudence necessarily leads to mediocrity.
 Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949). copy citation

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Author Simone de Beauvoir
Source The Second Sex
Topic self-assurance failure
Date 1949
Language English
Reference
Note Translated by Constance Borde and 
Sheila Malovany Chevallier
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