Confidence Boosts!

Perhaps not a great revelation, but confidence is a key factor for success. Top athletes will have confidence in their ability to perform when it matters. This in turn can allow them to stay calm under pressure, execute tough decisions with clarity, and remove or reduce anxiety at critical moments. If you think your confidence level is lower than it should be, the chances are that you are not performing at your best.

This blog post explores some of the ways we can begin to increase our confidence. Whilst no substitute for individual tailored support, the ideas below can most certainly act as a starting point to get you thinking. If you aren’t an athlete, this post is still for you! These techniques can be used in any context, be it exercise, business or just life in general!

1. Achievements List

Grab yourself a blank piece of paper and a pen. Now have a think about all the things in life that you have achieved or are proud of. Write them down! Negative bias means we often place too much of our energy thinking about when things went wrong, so it is important we proactively dedicate time to thinking about those times that things have gone right! You can make this a general achievement list (across all life contexts) or think about it simply in relation to achievements in your sport (or business etc). Once you have your list, read it and re-read it. See all the great things you have managed to achieve. Keep your list handy and refer to it whenever you feel you need a quick boost.

2. Confidence Jar

Sometimes we all need a pick me up! A confidence jar can be a fantastic aid to keep around the house for those tough moments that we all have. Cut up some small pieces of paper and on them write down some phrases or achievements that make you feel good. It can be a great idea to enlist the help of friends or family members with this - ask them to write you some brief words of encouragement. You will then need a jar. Fold up all the pieces of paper and pop them in. When you need some feel good factor, just reach in and randomly select one or two to read. You’ll be back feeling great in no time.

3. Mastery Experiences

One of the biggest ways we can improve our confidence when faced with a challenge is to think of times that we have achieved something similar in the past. Ok, so you might not have faced the exact scenario, but perhaps you’ve played in a tournament with similar conditions, or come back in a match from behind, etc. By drawing on our successful experiences of the past, we can be confident that we have the ability to achieve the same (or similar) again. Of course, there will always be times when we face something entirely new, so what can we do then? Live vicariously! Draw on the experience of someone who is similar to you who has overcome the challenge. If they can do it, so can you!

4. Training Diary

Combined with effective goal setting, keeping a training diary is not only a good way to ensure you stay on track, but can also be used to help your confidence. After each of your training sessions, make a brief note of what you did and how you felt, plus anything you want to adjust or take forwards. When you come to the competition you have been working towards, look back over your training diary and see just how much work you have put in to ensure you are ‘ready’ to perform. Ok, not every session may have gone quite to plan, but you will probably be surprised by just how much you can see you have put in to preparing yourself. Goal setting feeds our confidence by ensuring we know we have done everything possible to prepare ourselves to achieve our target outcome – you can’t do more than that!

5. Mantra

As a sportsperson, it is probable you will face some tough moments during competition and knowing that we are ready for these, to maintain focus and to push through, can give us the confidence to know we can handle whatever arises. One technique is to use a pre-prepared and practiced mantra, or self-talk statement. This should be something that speaks to you personally and that you can refer to when you need it. You may even have more than one for different situations you may face. It could be something as simple as ‘concentrate’ or ‘keep pushing’. The idea is that saying this will help bring you back to the moment and what you need to do to succeed.

If you have any questions about these techniques or would like to discuss your confidence concerns in more detail, do feel free to contact me: laura@laurarowe.co.uk