I have always been terrible at selling myself. Selling and promoting yourself and your work means publicly acknowledging your value. You not only have to first attach a value to yourself, but also convince others of it. It means having a staggering amount of belief in yourself to even begin with. And frankly, I have sucked at all these things. I have let my work speak for itself as much as it could. If you are reading this, the strategy has probably worked. But that is only because it is the only one I know.
This wasn’t always the case. Like most things in life, this was something I taught myself. It started when a teacher I really liked called me “overconfident” at a parent-teacher meeting in Class 4. Suddenly, ‘overconfidence’ became the worst word in the world, and I came to accept and own the idea of being humble. Not just in a graceful, grounded way, but also where I would put myself down a little, always be a bit more pleasant and just a tad more agreeable.
So, when I came across a girl in college who spoke a lot of pretty words, decorated with theatrical pauses, conveying the simplest ideas like she had just had a revolutionary breakthrough, I would turn my head and scoff, forced by habit. Most of what she used to say didn’t make sense to me, but for some reason, it did to those who wanted to listen and had the effect she intended it to have. Funnily, and most importantly, I don’t think she was pretending. So, when she got into the right places, into the choicest rooms, surprising as it may have been for me, it was perfectly normal for her.
That was my first introduction to being delusional to the point of success. Back then, delusion, the grandchild of overconfidence, was a word I didn’t want to be associated with at all costs.
It didn’t stop there. After college, when I was forced and pushed against my will into the ‘real’ world, I started seeing this all around me. People my age navigated projects with a wild confidence about their abilities, selling themselves to be more competent than they appeared, even if they didn’t always live up to it. It seemed to work better than any podcast, any inner work therapy — just blindly believing in the fact that the best could happen to you.
Delusion, as a word, is perceived quite negatively, a terribly wonky trait to have. More so, medically, delusions are described as “fixed false beliefs” a person has based on an inaccurate perception of reality. Basically, it’s when a person cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined. There’s, of course, no arguing against that. But like many things, the Internet has rebranded the term ‘delusional’. “Delulu” has become a mindset — a way of believing in yourself to the point of success, irrespective of the odds against you and presenting yourself in that light.
In 2025, after quite a bit of unlearning, I have come to the conclusion that delusion and overconfidence aren’t just accessories to succeeding, but in fact, quite the main ingredients in achieving positive results. I may even go so far as to say that they matter more than the quality of work you put in.
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There’s science to back this argument. In 2010, two researchers asked participants to predict the amount of time it would take them to complete a certain task. On comparing the predicted time periods with the actual ones, the researchers found that those who made optimistic predictions also completed the task in less time. They concluded, “when predictions are optimistic, they spur movement toward goal attainment.” Another 2013 study, published in the research journal Learning and Individual Differences, ties higher self-efficacy to setting higher goals and even persevering in difficult situations. No wonder, “delulu is the solulu” has become the Gen Z turn of phrase. It’s no longer just a meme, but a reminder that you need to power through to achieve your dreams. Our generation, infamous for making light of everything serious, has pretty much cracked the code most successful people apply in their lives — having an unwavering and solid amount of self-belief (Think Kareena Kapoor’s notorious ‘Poo’ from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham).
Of course, there’s a limit to this motto. Not everything can be willed into existence with confidence alone. Influencers like Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, who conned her way into New York’s elite circles, and Billy McFarland, who sold the fantasy of a luxury island music festival only to deliver the infamous Fyre Festival fiasco, serve as cautionary tales of what happens when delusion goes unchecked.
But if you are someone heavily pessimistic, always considering the worst-case scenario, it’s probably worth giving a try to being delusionally optimistic about your chances and your capabilities. It won’t necessarily get you where you want to be, but it will get you to try and put yourself out there — not once but as many times as it takes. And that, for me, is half the battle won.
