How to Have Proactive Confidence
Confidence can gain momentum like a snowball growing in size as it barrels down a hill…
But, also, confidence can come crashing down like an avalanche.
Slight doubts can creep into your mind and slowly grow in magnitude and infiltrate other parts of your game.
At that point, athletes feel less confidence and become stuck in a slump. Bad performance after bad performance makes the attempt to regain confidence feel like an impossible task.
Knowing what impacts your confidence, the confidence-killers, is the first defense in preventing the downward spiraling of athletic confidence.
Most athletes believe winning builds confidence and losing lowers confidence.
That is true to a point. There are many other factors that contribute to confidence, such as:
- Finding and relying on your strengths
- Preparing at a high level
- Identifying little successes
- Managing unrealistic expectations
- Working hard in practice
- Developing strong mental skills
- Improving technique
- Ignoring undue or excessive criticism
- Challenging yourself on a daily basis
- Building positive habits
- Overcoming perfectionism
- Learning to calm yourself during competition
- Moving past mistakes in a timely fashion
- Avoiding comparisons
By focusing on these building blocks, you can build stable confidence that is not solely dependent on winning or losing.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about the team’s confidence as they started the 2019-20 season with a 7-0 record. Shanahan points to winning as the reason for the team’s confidence, but there is something more at play.
SHANAHAN: “The more games you win, the more confidence guys get. Just like the more games you lose in a row, the less confident you get. Both can be a little bit contagious to the team and I think our guys, we’ve won a lot of different ways. Been in a lot of different types of games and I think our guys, the more you do that, the more you can reassure yourself that you can pull out certain types of wins.”
In terms of building confidence, winning or placing first in a competition are not the sole sources of confidence.
Building confidence means winning little battles… working hard in practice, preparing extra for competition, developing mental strengths or mental skills, working to hone technique, building rapport with teammates, strengthening your strengths, pushing past comfort, etc.
This is true for all sports… Winning a little battle for a gymnast could be finding the bright spot in a routine that didn’t score high…
Winning a little battle for a baseball player may be adding visualization to their training regimen…
Winning a little battle for a tennis player can be working on speed and agility.
All sports have a variety of opportunities to build confidence.
The more attention you pay to the little things, you build confidence that remains relatively stable no matter the outcome of an athletic competition.
Winning the Confidence Game:
Look for opportunities to build confidence. Ask yourself each day, “What can I do today to build my confidence?” and “”What will I do specifically to build my confidence?”
Be mindful of the things that can hurt your confidence, such as high expectations, doubt, making comparisons, and worrying about what others think about your game.
To build stable confidence you have to manage the confidence killers.
Learn Mental Game Strategies to Boost Your Confidence in Sports!
If you’re an athlete who struggles with self-doubt, loses confidence, or cant take “practice confidence” to competition, The Confident Athlete is for you!
Self-confidence is what separates champion athletes from the rest of the competitors…
You can tap into my knowledge and experience to learn how to bring ultimate confidence to competition!
The Confident Athlete CD and workbook program consists of 2 audio CD’s that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.
Remember, confidence is a choice you make. You have to make a conscious effort to proactively seek confidence building thoughts and behaviors. Confident Athletes are proactive when it comes to confidence!
Learn more about one of our most popular CD programs in The Confident Athlete Series…
The Confident Athlete: A 14-Day Plan For Ultimate Self-Confidence
Take control of your mindset and performance today!
What are mental game customers saying about our confidence boosting program?
“I am a ASP world qualifying professional surfer and after beginning the ‘The Confident Athlete’ I had an almost instant change in attitude about my own surfing ability and my mindset going into competition. By using the Confident Athlete strategies, my confidence has done a complete 180 degrees. I won a local pro/am a few weeks back, and just had my best result of the year in one the last big events on the world circuit this last week in Brazil! It is my secret weapon!”*
~Shaun Burrell, Professional Surfer
(Listen to his success story)
“We are amazed at how much ‘The Confident Athlete’ program has helped my niece play her best tennis during matches. She literally made it to the farthest round of a tournament (semifinals) after finishing the CDs/workbook. We are going to do all 3 in the series.”*
~Jason Bourguignon, Uncle
“I bought The Confident Athlete and I have to tell you it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made in sports (and I’ve made quite a lot!)” I am a top amateur racquetball player. I have multiple state and regional titles, and 2 national titles. Your approach and ideas have snapped me out of a slump that has lasted way too long. The sport is fun again and I am playing like my old self for the first time in a long time!”*
~Mark Davis
Boost Your Self-Confidence And Focus With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
If you’re a top performer during practice but find yourself under-performing in competition, the most likely culprit holding you back is your mental game. In fact, many athletes struggle with the same problem….
Master mental game coach Dr. Patrick Cohn can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal coaching.
Meet with us via Skype, phone, FaceTime, or GoTo Meeting. With today’s video technology, we are able to connect with athletes and coaches all over the globe.
Mental toughness coaching helps serious athletes like you to uncover the beliefs and attitudes that keep you from performing to your potential. You’ll learn mental game strategies to perform at your peak more often, overcoming performance plateaus and lack of consistency
Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
What are our mental coaching students saying?
“I want to thank you for the great
work you are doing with Ty. He seems to be soaring with confidence right
now. We are flying out to see him pitch next weekend. He threw well
Friday night and is drawing a lot of interest from several Division I
schools. I’ll let you know how he looks.”*
~Randy Sullivan, Baseball Parent
“Thanks again for teaching me how to do mental game coaching with my volleyball team. We are already seeing results for just our FIRST meeting! I really enjoyed out work together in Orlando!”*
~Kurt Trout, Iowa Rockets Volleyball Coach
Disclaimer
*Testimonials found on this site are examples of what we have done for other clients, and what some of our clients have said about us. However, we cannot guarantee the results in any case. Your results may vary and every situation is different. No compensation was provided for these testimonials.