Confidence

[LocksmithArmy]

So I had to open a Master 140 today that had no keys. Now, when people come up to a 140 they are gonna say 1 of 2 thing, "140 piece of cake" or "woah, its got a security pin i cant take it yet." This one was in a really odd position and I had my hands held funny. but I never thought for a second it wouldnt open, it just never crossed my mind.
it did take longer than usual because I had to get used to my position but it still took less than 3 minutes.

do you think confidence has anything to do with pickability... Im no pro at security pins, I just know what they feel like, 140s are not a problem for me but I have picked up a few cut ones and have yet to open them(this may be due to dirt but who knows)
But I belive my confidence and not having a doubt in my mind helped me defeat this one... or maybe not.

Id like to hear from you all, stories or comments or whatever.

[ElbowMacaroni]

Well, I'd have to say, yeah, confidence could play a large role in opening something. If you think you can't or are unlikely to be able to, the odds against you actually doing it go up. So, it follows that as long as you have the requisite skill and the confidence to boot you're gonna pop that sucker.

[raimundo]

I have long believed that people who say "I can't do that," are stating their preference to not learn, not try, not give it a good and real try if they do try, and are literally setting them selfs up for failure. I don't play a musical instrument, but I could probably do a rudimentary job if I studied the things, at this point, I do not play a musical instrument, and its the passion and interest of some very talented people all of whom I support in their work. They do it so well.
But when you hear someone undercutting themselves, with the 'I cant do it' attitude, the problem goes deeper and they probably don't have any of the stamina necessary to stay in and win. the attitude is just a manifestation of the larger problem.

[Eyes_Only]

Confidence definitely plays a huge part. Lack of confidence in themselves and or with the method of attack is probably why so many people in the professional "security industry" claim that certain bypass techniques or tools like bump keys do not work on their locks and that it is impossible to do.

They're not willing to learn, they have no enthusiasm and they allow doubt to hinder any progress.

[RevDisk]

I keep a stash of "warm up" locks handy. Locks I've picked literally hundreds of times. I personally don't view them so much as confidence builders as warm up. Some folks like jumping into the deep end of the pool, but I prefer "Crawl, walk, run." That is how I was trained, that is how I train others. To each their own.

If a lock is being problematic. Put it down. Go take a couple of minutes doing something else. Try again. If you still can't get it working, do more research. If someone else has done it, you can as well. Analyze what you are doing, write it down if you must. Find your weaknesses, improve them.

I'm not a big "self esteem" or "have confidence!" guy. You can either do it, or you can't. If you can't, figure out why not and build towards it. Might not be an instantaneous process, but it can be done.

[Captainwtf]

I have a much higher level of confidence and success rate whenever i'm completely alone and it's just Me vs. Lock, regardless of how tough of a lock it is. Add a few bystanders, and the only thing getting opened around there is my car door Maybe that's why i'm just a hobbyist and not a real locksmith

[rx6006]

I'd like to say that every lock I set out to pick is a stunning success, but I'd be lying to you. Typically, I'm successful around half the time with the locks in my collection. I find that, as mentioned previously, keeping some 'warm up' locks on hand to increase my confidence has done a great bit of good. Best of luck to you.

[inverseentropy]

Bystanders definitely don't help me... I can consistently rake the lock on my door in five or ten seconds, although I don't do it unless necessary because it's probably not good for the lock. When my neighbors came by to use the phone to call a locksmith, because they locked themselves out with their baby in the house, I told them I could open it no problem. It took me 15 minutes (not raking the whole time, I only try that for about ten seconds tops). It didn't help that the temperature was well below zero (Fahrenheit) and I had to put my fingers in my mouth every couple of minutes when they went numb, but still I feel like I should have gotten it. In the end I think I wasn't using enough tension to get it to turn. So, I probably had too much confidence at the start and not much confidence at all after a couple of minutes! The pressure to go fast (not pressure by the bystanders, but self-pressure because I wanted to feel like I was good at it) meant that I wasn't really using very good technique.

[johnny_bombastic]

Confidence is good, cockiness is bad. I was making a key to a Chevy Tahoe recently and had to pick over the ignition to remove it. I had done a dozen of these before, but hadn't seen one in a couple months and had sort of lost my touch. But I walked up to the car telling the guy how easy this was and that he'd be on the road in no time. After not being able to pick it in the first minute which was rare, i let myself get aggravated and then just started raking wildly and unsuccessfully. I lost my confidence when I realized that I hadn't picked one in a long time and I stopped thinking and feeling the lock. After an hour or so, I called out my co-worker who picked it in about a minute. I've done several of those since then with no problem and without even thinking twice about it.

Mentality is very important. Confidence without impatience.

[eppiotic]

A few of my personal thoughts are:

1) If it takes a key It can be picked.
2) You can do anything with enough time.
3) Impossible doesn't mean impossible it just means hard, time consuming, or expensive.

Confidence comes into play when you have a defeated mindset because you won't try or really invest in the project. Always assume you can defeat it no matter what, and it will become a self fulfilling prophecy in most cases.

[eppiotic]

I'd like to say that every lock I set out to pick is a stunning success, but I'd be lying to you. Typically, I'm successful around half the time with the locks in my collection. I find that, as mentioned previously, keeping some 'warm up' locks on hand to increase my confidence has done a great bit of good. Best of luck to you.

Success is a relative term. Thomas Edison failed 1000 times trying to invent the light bulb. When asked in an interview about how he kept it together after failing 1000 times, Edison just told them that he didn't fail at all. He had successfully found 1000 ways to not make a light bulb.

Its funny how we can fail hundreds of times in a row and succeed once and be a success. Just assume you're on that path to success at all times, and you will be in the right mindset.

[FreemasonAFAM]

True Confidence is to keep trying. Feeling the confidence just means you will most likely solve the problem faster.

However, you may not feel the confidence as much as you would like, but as long as you are working on the problem you are "living" confidence. Trying = success (eventually) = feeling the confidence. That is (IMHO) the only way to build the feeling.

The only "True Failure" is to quit trying.

[wakeboard1290]

I am by no means an expert lockpicker, but from a beginners standpoint I think confidence is one of the best tools you can have on your side. I'm not referring to having a big head and thinking you can pick open any cylinder, but by giving yourself confidence through knowledge. Michel Foucault, a French philosopher, coined the idea that knowledge is power, but only if you use it. Applying this to a hobby such as locksport is a great way to be confident. For Example: If you try opening a new lock that you know nothing about, you're starting from the same place you were when you first started picking locks, except you have more skills. However, if you use the knowledge you've picked up on from this site, and from reading books (like LSS by Marc Tobias and High-Security Mechanical Locks: An Encyclopedic Reference by greyman, a member of this site), you're a step ahead of the game. Going one step further, if you can find information about this specific lock, such as how many pins it has, types of drivers, security features such as special key pins or sidebars, you can apply your knowledge, and when you do so you can do it confidently. I have found that reading and practice, practice practice are the two most beneficial things for my confidence. Good thread, keep that pick-fu strong

Ben

[Rickthepick]

I never judge anything til iv had a few minutes on it.

Iv come across crappy locks that have been mind blowingly hard but also expensive locks that have opened with a couple rakes.

Theres a lot of variables such as age of locks, pinning, condition....

the best mindset is to just remain calm and go in slowly. If your on adrenaline high and over-confident you aint got no chance.

[HeadHunterCEO]

IMO Confidence =experience + ego.
When i was younger my ego dominated one side of the equation. Driven by little more shear force of will to overcome whatever obstacle was between me and my goal. After many epic failures and complete victories that I have experienced I have a deep understanding of what i am up against in most situations.
The power of positive thinking can carry along way and help motivate those around you who have lost the will to push on.