5 Things That Break Athlete Confidence

Confidence is built as we develop our skills, talents and abilities. It is a state of mind that elicits the energy of positive expectation. It is our patterns of thinking that have the power to either move us forward or keep us stuck. In this manner confidence becomes a knowing what we are capable of and the trust in our ability to perform.

When we work with the mind we work with thoughts, thoughts processes and patterns of thought. To build confidence requires we eliminate unnecessary thoughts and instead choose those that use our energy in constructive ways. Here are five thought patterns to be aware of:

Uncertainty – Remove any situations or things that cause you to not know if you can or want to continue on your chosen path. For example; if you don’t know if you can get time off work to attend training, ask for it and make the necessary arrangements. If you are not certain you will have support from friends, family or your peers, ask for it. If you are not certain you will have the financial resources, research ways to make it possible. Once you take the uncertainty out of a situation it is easier to make decisions and ease a mind that may have been previously occupied with worry.

Indecisiveness – Decisions have the power to move you forward and if you aren’t moving forward you risk being stuck at your current skill level. Sometimes we wait for evidence that a pursuit is worthy of our effort before we give 100% but it won’t be worth it unless we give 100%. When we decide to give it our all we use the energy of decisiveness that’s required to excel. The energy of decisive action builds in intensity, meaning, performance increases when we consistently train with conscious choice.

Disbelief – Should you not believe you are capable of attaining the skills you desire it is beneficial to gather facts to which you can accurately asses your capabilities. This form of self evaluation provides you the opportunity to seek help in a specific area. As you improve you will create new belief in your abilities. To excel in sport requires we have a start and end point and belief is the energy of the starting point that moves us towards excellence. Developing belief is a matter of building your skill sets and abilities and this builds our confidence.

Confusion – If the process of training is not understood, if you are not clear on expectations or should you not understand the directions given, its important to seek clarity. Confusion is a form of scattered thinking that is non productive and can waste a considerable amount of energy. Being confused leaves our attempts at moving forward in limbo with no direction. Directed and organized thoughts are like getting all our ducks in a row.

Questioning – As athletes we train to develop and improve our specific skill sets. When we question why someone is asking something of us, why we are attending certain events or why we are training in a certain way we are in essence expressing doubt. This energy halts us and doesn’t allow us to move forward and can quickly become an energy block. To gain confidence we need to develop a focused mindset that supports our desires rather than our questions.

As we develop the state of mind where confidence resides we engage the forward energy of positive expectation in sport. Bottom line; do what you know will help you develop into a confident athlete.