🏆 Confidence is KEY for Athletes. What do you do when Confidence wanes?

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Here's what's coming:

• 8 Questions to ask when confidence wanes 🙋🏻‍♂️

• Some Tom Brady & Taylor Heise GOLD 🥇

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• Read Time ~ 5 minutes

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💭 ONE THOUGHT

Confidence is KEY for Athletes.

Confidence is vitally important in sports.

It allows individuals to thrive. It allows teams to have success. It allows some people to overcome challenges and adversity. It allows leaders to develop and influence their teams.

Coaches have a very important job in building the confidence of their athletes.

One of my favorite quotes I use with my team is below:

Confidence is Earned. It is one of the essential mindsets of a competitor.

So, what can you do when your confidence wanes? What can a coach do?

When you lose your confidence, it is a terrific time to reflect and ask yourself some good questions.

These questions can help refocus you on the task at hand and hopefully get you moving back in a positive direction, a direction that brings your confidence back to you.

8 Questions to ask when your Confidence Wanes.

1: Am I focused on the process or the prize?

It is easy to be blinded by the win, the loss, or the trophy.

But the process is always what matters most. Focus on the day-to-day actions and not the results.

The most successful athletes trust the process. They know there will be bumps in the road, but their focus is on the process of self-improvement.

This builds confidence, and this will, in turn, lead to more success.

Focusing on the "process" is one of the many things I write about in my book, Culture WINS: 50 Ways to Build a Winning Culture. Successful team cultures are always focused on the process.

2: What progress am I making?

Baby steps.

Think in terms of growth. 📈 What can I do to get better today? You build confidence one day at a time, one habit at a time.

It is often said that "Habits Win." And these habits always start in small increments. Do little things that move you in the right direction.

This is why goal setting and creating simple daily habits are so important. It allows you to measure your progress, see the small wins, and this will, in turn, build your confidence.

3: What am I good at?

“Be great at what you are good at.”

I tell my team this ALL the time.

When you focus on your strengths, you have a better chance to see and feel success.

Focus on your strengths. Do try to do too much. This will bring you confidence.

All too often, I see kids trying to be something they are not, especially in competition. They try to do too much. When they do this, they stick out like a sore thumb and often lose confidence. If you want to build your confidence, focus on doing what you are good at.

The time to work on your weaknesses is during practice and during the off-season. The time to focus on your strengths is during competition.

4: What can I learn from my past successes?

Be Humble enough to Learn. Your past successes should have taught you something. What did you learn?

Many athletes will watch old videos of themselves when their confidence wanes. This helps them remember the success they have had.

Focus on your past success and what you have learned from these successes to build your confidence.

5: Am I preparing the right way?

”A failure to plan is a plan for failure.”

Make sure you are doing everything you can in preparation to perform at your best. This builds confidence in your ability.

Control the Controllables!

• Are you sleeping well?

• Are you eating well?

• Are you hydrated?

• Are you making good decisions?

• Are you consistently working out?

• Are you prepared?

• Are you healthy?

Elite athletes control these "controllables" at a unique level. They have learned that these "controllables" are incredibly important in reaching peak performance.

This has a huge impact on your confidence.

6: Am I letting others' opinions impact me?

Negative thoughts can impact confidence. Surround yourself with positive people who will build you up.

Today's social media world can do a lot of harm to athletes. Consider turning off social media during your season. It is very difficult to manage all of the outside noise when you are trying to compete.

Do not let others' opinions or feedback impact you unless it comes from a coach or someone you trust.

7: What is my self-talk like?

Learn the SECRET: just because you have a negative thought does not mean you have to believe it.

Learn to talk to yourself instead of listening to yourself.

This may be one of the most important lessons of life you can learn. You will have negative thoughts enter your mind - we all do. Successful people can talk to themself and not let these thoughts settle in their minds. This helps build your confidence in the toughest of times.

8: What is my purpose?

Remember your why. Why do you play? Do you have fun? Reviewing your purpose will re-center you and move you in a positive direction.

This is so important. It is easy to forget your WHY! Remind yourself of your WHY. Avoid outside distractions that pull you away from this!

Watch this 41-second video from one of the world's top Women's Hockey Players, Taylor Heise, who talks about self-esteem and why she plays.

Confidence is KEY!

Confident athletes can work through negative thoughts or adversity.

The questions above give you a starting point of questions to ask yourself. Reflect on these 8 questions and use them with your players. Help them work to regain their confidence.

Good Luck!

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