The Importance of Proactive Confidence
Confidence is how strongly you believe in your ability to complete a skill. Confidence certainly is built on your past success in sports…
For a gymnast, that may mean performing a solid routine or getting a personal best score.
For a baseball pitcher, it means locating your pitches for strikes over the course of several innings or games.
For a tennis player, it might be hitting a high percentage of first serves or beating someone you lost to.
For a golfer, it may be sinking short putts consistently or lowering your handicap.
What adds to the belief that you can succeed in your sport and execute your role on the team?
But sometimes confidence can be fragile when you don’t have that immediate success.
In sports, and in life for that matter, athletes look for evidence to support that they can succeed or that they will fail.
For example, a hitter that faces a pitcher who has held him to no hits over the course of several games views those failed at-bats as “proof” that he cannot get a hit off that pitcher, “I strike out every time I go up against this pitcher. There is no way I can get a hit this time.”
Or a tennis player who had a string of lost matches may view those instances as “proof” that he is not a good tennis player, “I always lose. I cannot seem to win even one set. I’m a horrible tennis player.”
Athletes look for evidence to support their belief or not support their belief.
Therefore, if you look for evidence that you can succeed in certain circumstances, your confidence will increase dramatically.
In the previous examples, the hitter can focus on things, such as solid contact against the pitcher and better technique at the plate as evidence that he can successfully get a base hit off of that pitcher…
The tennis player can find evidence such as better play against higher-ranked opponents to gain the necessary confidence to win future matches.
Positive evidence helps PGA golfer Kevin Chappell maintain a high level of confidence.
Chappell was sidelined by back surgery and it caused him to question his future success, but Chappell continues to find the evidence necessary to succeed. The result was a historic round of golf becoming the 11th golfer to shoot a sub-60 round in his first PGA Tour event since surgery.
CHAPPELL: “I’d like to say I never stopped believing, but it’s always nice to see you can do it and have the evidence to move forward.”
The historic round gave Chappell further evidence of his abilities to produce positive results.
CHAPPELL: “Take 10 months off and win your first time back. There is a long way to go before I can realize that dream, but it’s there and it’s obtainable.”
Having past success starts the foundation for confidence, but you want to look for ways you can proactively build confidence and not wait for success.
Which comes first confidence or success? The chicken or the egg?
How to Grow your Confidence Proactively:
What evidence supports the fact that you deserve to feel confident about your performance and obtain success?
What can you say about your practice, training, and work ethic that gives you confidence? What can you say about your physical abilities and mental game that gives you confidence?
What are your unique talents that can help you have proactive confidence instead of waiting for success to feel confident?
And avoid focusing on the reasons you can’t succeed or do not deserve to feel confident, such as “I’m too slow,” or “I’m not big enough” or “I’ve never beat this person or team.”
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.