"I got the flat one," he announced. "The flat one?" we asked. "Yeah," he said, "the flat A." “和平时一样啊。”“一样？”我们问道。“是啊，”他说，“一样得‘A’呗。”

He was right. He did get the flat one. 他是对的，他的确一如既往地得了“A”。

Actually, we all got flat A's on the exam. 事实上，这次考试我们三个都得了A。

My brother was not overconfident. Carrie and I were overly insecure. 我弟弟的自信并不过分，但卡丽和我的不安全感却有些过分了。

These experiences taught me that I needed to make both an intellectual and an emotional adjustment. 这些经验让我知道，我需要在理智与情感上做些调整了。

I learned over time that while it was hard to shake feelings of self-doubt, I could understand that there was a distortion. 随着时间的推移，我渐渐明白了这个道理，尽管要完全摆脱自我怀疑还是非常困难的，但我能够理解这当中的确存在着某种扭曲。

I would never possess my brother's effortless confidence, but I could challenge the notion that I was constantly headed for failure. 我绝不会像我弟弟那样即便不付出什么努力也能拥有自信，但我可以试着克服“自己正不断地滑向失败”的想法。

When I felt like I was not capable of doing something, I'd remind myself that I did not fail all of my exams in college. Or even one. 当我感觉自己无法胜任某项工作时，我会提醒自己：我没有考砸大学的每一场考试，一次也没有。

I learned to undistort the distortion. 我学会了将“扭曲”的心态扳正。

We all know supremely confident people who have no right to feel that way. 我们认识的人中都有一些极度自信的人，他们没有权利不自信。

We also all know people who could do so much more if only they believed in themselves. 我们认识的人中也有一些人，如果再自信一点儿就能做出更大的成绩。

Like so many things, a lack of confidence can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. 事实证明，缺乏自信会成为一种自我实现的预言。

I don't know how to convince anyone to believe deep down that she is the best person for the job, not even myself. 我真的不知道怎么告诉自己或别人，一定要发自内心地相信自己就是做某项工作的最佳人选。

To this day, I joke that I wish I could spend a few hours feeling as self-confident as my brother. 直到今天，我还开玩笑说，我希望自己一天中能有那么几个小时像我的弟弟或丈夫那样自信满满，

It must feel so, so good—like receiving a cosmic flat one every day. 那种感觉一定相当好，就像每天都能得“A”一样。