Build Proactive Confidence to Improve Your Game
How would you grade your confidence over the course of the past athletic season? Would you give yourself an A? B? C+?
How much more could you accomplish if you bumped up your confidence grade?
Unfortunately, a lack of confidence holds many athletes back and creates feelings of frustration and disappointment.
One of the most common questions we receive from our surveys is “How can I improve my confidence?”
One respondent noted how frustrated she has become due to her plateauing over the course of the past year.
From the beginning of preseason, you might have felt, “This is the year. A brand new start. I’m going to break out this year.” You worked hard. You felt good in your first few competitions but didn’t see the drastic improvements you expected.
Your confidence wavered and the thoughts of “I knew I couldn’t do this” flooded in your mind. Your level of effort in training dropped off and your performance leveled off. Your coaches and parents kept telling you that you are talented but just need a little bit of confidence… But how?
Next-level Performance Demands Superior Confidence
You already know that confidence is important, but it doesn’t happen by chance nor is it developed overnight.
To improve your confidence, you need to actively build your confidence.
For example, Detroit Tigers’ left-hander Tarik Skubal is brimming with confidence as he fights for a spot in the 2021 starting rotation.
In his debut season last year, Skubal pitched in 8 games with a 5.63 ERA, 37 strikeouts and 11 walks in 32 innings.
SKUBAL: “[The players on the team] are extremely talented and very gifted players. I need to push myself even harder and especially not get complacent. As far as the mentality, I’m going to attack spring training the same way I always have, and that’s just to go out there and build innings up and making sure you’re healthy from the ground up… I try not to focus on winning a rotation spot. I’m just trying to go out and control what I can control and let everything take care of itself.”
You can hear the confident tone from Skubal’s statement. Skubal provides some “how-to build confidence” tips.
“Attack spring training” – Confidence is built through preparation.
“Making sure you are healthy from the ground up” – Confidence is improved by working on all aspects of performance: physical, technical and mental.
“Focus on winning a rotation spot” – Confidence grows by keeping the focus on you, your strengths, your abilities and your successes.
“Control what I can control” – Confidence remains stable when you focus on aspects you can control: effort, focus and mindset.
As mentioned earlier, to have more confidence, you need to take responsibility for feeling confident.
Plenty of resources are available to you to learn effective confidence-building strategies… But you need to take the first step and commit to taking control of your SELF-CONFIDENCE!
How to Have Proactive Confidence:
First, understand the confidence busters, such as doubt, making comparisons and high expectations. Work to manage the confidence busters as these will hold you back.
Next, focus on your plan for “Being healthy from the ground up.” What will you do to improve your physical and technical game?
Be sure to focus on your talents and strengths every day. Don’t disqualify what you bring to your team or sport and past experience or success.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- Do You Or Your Team Have The Comeback Mindset?
- How to Grow Competition Confidence
- How Preparation Boosts Confidence
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The Confident Athlete
“The Confident Athlete” consists of 2 audio programs 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.
Let me help you put a stop to the confidence leak. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE.
“The Confident Athlete” is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was developed for any athlete – junior to professional –that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.