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Self Confidence
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Self Confidence
When athletes feel confident, they are more readily able to turn sporting
potential into superior performance. Conversely, when they feel unsure of
themselves, the slightest setback or smallest hurdle can have an inordinate
effect on their performance.

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Whatisself-confidence?

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Self-confidence is commonly defined as the sureness of feeling that you are

equal to the task at hand. This sureness is characterised by absolute belief in
ability. You may well know someone whose self-belief has this unshakeable
quality, whose ego resists even the biggest setbacks. In such people,
confidence is as resilient as a squash ball: the harder the blow, the quicker
they bounce back. Nonetheless, although confidence is a desirable
characteristic, arrogance - or a sureness of feeling not well founded in one's
ability - is undesirable. If self-confidence is perhaps the 'guardian angel of
sports performers' then arrogance is their nemesis.

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Thesixsourcesofself-confidence
The confidence an individual feels during a particular activity or situation is
generally derived from one or more of the following six elements:
1. Performance accomplishments are the strongest contributor to sport
confidence. When you perform any skill successfully, you will generate
confidence and be willing to attempt something slightly more difficult. Skill
learning should be organised into a series of tasks that progress gradually and
allow you to master each step before progressing on to the next. Personal
success breeds confidence, while repeated personal failure diminishes it.
2.Beinginvolvedwiththesuccessofothers can also significantly bolster
your confidence, especially if you believe that the performer you are involved
with (e.g. a team-mate) closely matches your own qualities or abilities. In
effect, it evokes the reaction: "if they can do it, I can do it".
3.Verbalpersuasion is a means of attempting to change the attitudes and
behaviour of those around us, and this includes changing their selfconfidence. In sport, coaches often try to boost confidence by convincing
athletes that the challenge ahead is within their capabilities: "I know you are
a great player so keep your head up and play hard". An athlete might
reinforce this by repeating the message over and over to him or herself as a
form of self-persuasion. A tip here is to avoid stating what you want in the
negative; so, rather than "'I really don't want to come off second best" try "I
really want to win this one". Accordingly, your mind will not need to consider
what is not required in order to arrive at what is.
4. Imagery experiences have to do with athletes recreating multi-sensory
images of successful performance in their mind. Through creating such mental
representations, mastery of a particular task or set of circumstances is far
more likely. What you see is what you get

5. Physiological states can reduce feelings of confidence through

phenomena such as muscular tension, palpitations and butterflies in the
stomach. The bodily sensations associated with competition need to be
perceived as being facilitative to performance and this can be achieved
through the application of appropriate stress management interventions such
as the "five breath technique" and "thought-stopping".

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6.Emotionalstates is the final source of self-confidence and relates to how

you control the emotions associated with competition, such as excitement and
anxiety. Very often, the importance of the occasion creates self-doubt, which
is why it is essential to control your thoughts and emotions. Learning imagery
and concentration skills such as those described in "the spotlight of
excellence" (Exercise 2 below) will help.

Self Worth
Athlete Sport

Fiveexercisesthatwillboostyourself-confidence
Exercise1:Confidentsituationsandsituationsofdoubt
To achieve a greater sense of stability in your confidence, it is necessary to
know exactly what causes it to fluctuate. Divide a clean page into two
columns. Label the first column 'High-confidence situations' and the second
'Low-confidence situations'.
In the first column, list all of the situations or circumstances in your sport in
which you feel completely confident. In the second column, list the situations
or circumstances that sometimes cause your confidence to diminish. Clearly
identifying the situations that make you feel uneasy is the first step towards
building greater self-confidence. We will come back to these lists in some of
the remaining exercises, but for now, it should have just served to increase
your awareness of areas that can be improved.

Exercise2:Thespotlightofexcellence
This visualisation exercise recreates the mental state associated with past
performance success and will help you in bridging the gap between your
ability and confidence:
Imagine a huge spotlight beaming down on the floor one metre in front
of you. The light beam is about a metre in diameter
Now think back to a time in your sporting career when you were
performing at the very peak of your ability - perhaps using the first
column from Exercise 1 to guide you. Each movement you made
brought about a successful outcome and everything just seemed to flow
without much conscious effort
In a dissociated state (i.e. looking at yourself from the outside) examine
each of your five senses. See yourself inside the circle and excelling.
Imagine exactly what the 'you' inside the circle is seeing, hearing,
feeling, and smelling. Notice the 'taste of success' in your mouth
Now step into the spotlight and become fully associated so that you are
experiencing events through your own eyes and in real time. Again,
notice what you are seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting
Notice exactly what this feels like so that you can reproduce it at will
whenever your confidence is waning.

Exercise3:Positiveself-talk
Positive self-talk will affirm to you that you possess the skills, abilities,
positive attitudes and beliefs that are the building blocks of success. The
statements you choose need to be vivid, should roll off the tongue, and be
practiced well in advance of competition. Most of all, they must be totally
believable. You should use these particularly in the low-confidence situations

that you identified in the second column of Exercise 1. Here are some
examples to help you in composing your own:
Boxer - I have fists of steel
Basketballplayer (for free throws) - It is just me and the basket
DefensivelinesmaninAmericanfootball - No one is going to get
through
Hammerthrower - I am the king of the stingers
Judoplayer - I am as strong as an ox
Ski-jumper- My timing is always spot on
Sprinter - Go on the B of the bang
Strikerinsoccer- I will slot in every chance
Make your own list of four or five positive self-statements and read them to
yourself every night before you go to bed and every morning as you wake up.
Through repeated use, they will become embedded in your subconscious and
have a profound influence on your sporting performance.

Exercise4:Exploitingweaknessesinyouropponent
Your opponent will harbour doubts and fears that they will try hard to hide
from you. Like any human being, they are susceptible to anxiety, fatigue and
indecision. If you spend time thinking about your opponents, focus upon
which weaknesses and frailties you might most easily exploit. Here are some
specific guidelines to help you:
Study video footage of your opponents and analyse what most often
causes things to go wrong for them. It may be that they cannot perform
under certain conditions - such as Paula Radcliffe in the heat and
humidity of the Athens Olympics - or a particular part of their game has
a distinct weakness. For example, British tennis player Greg Rudeski
was known to have a weak backhand that opponents would often seek
to exploit
If you play an individual sport that requires precision skills such as
snooker or golf, make a point of congratulating your opponent when
they have a lucky stroke but say nothing when they are genuinely skilful
In team sports, identify players who are easily wound-up and find out
what triggers them to see red. Italian defender Marco Materazzi used
this technique, albeit in a rather controversial manner, in the final of the
2006 Football World Cup. Materazzi allegedly uttered an insulting
personal remark to French captain Zinedine Zidane who reacted badly.
Zidane violently head-butted Materazzi and was immediately sent off as
a result. Italy went on to win the match
Some opponents will get highly perturbed by what they perceive to be
unfair refereeing decisions. Make a point of being friendly and respectful
towards match officials and, in doing so, at a subconscious level at
least, they are more likely to adjudicate in your favour in any 50-50
call;
When your opponent is having a good run of form, use tactics that slow
the match down in order to break their flow. American tennis star John
McEnroe was the undisputed master of this; his on-court rants even
earned him the epithet 'SuperBrat'!
NB - you will notice that some of these techniques are entirely ethical and
'sportsmanlike' while others push the boundaries of fair play.

Exercise5:Usingthepowerofsound
Music has unique properties, among which is its ability to inspire, motivate
and boost one's confidence. There are many tunes with inspirational lyrics or
strong extra-musical associations that you can use to increase your
confidence before competition. Good examples include I Believe I Can Fly by R
Kelly (62bpm), The Best by Tina Turner (104bpm) and Gold by Spandau Ballet
(143bpm). You may like to try playing some tracks on your mp3 player as
part of a pre-event routine. I suggest that if you want to feel confident and
keep your physiological arousal low, select tracks with a slow tempo (i.e.
below 110bpm). Conversely, if you want to psych-up, go for a higher tempo
(i.e. over 110bpm), and build-up to a tempo of over 150bpm just before
competing.

Summary
This article should have convinced you that self-confidence is not solely in the
hands of fate. Even when Lady Luck is not shining, you are the person
responsible for determining how confident you feel in a sporting encounter.
Ideas for promoting confidence range from the simple principles of
understanding what causes confidence to wane, to the techniques of
visualisation and positive self-talk. You have also learned how to adopt a 'cando' attitude, exploit weaknesses in your opponents and use inspirational music

to raise your game. The legendary American football coach Vince Lombard!
once quipped,
'Confidenceiscontagious...butsoisalackofconfidence.'

References
1. KARAGEORGHIS, C. (2007) Self Confidence in Sport - make your ego
work for you. Peak Performance, 249, p. 1-4

RelatedReferences
The following references provide additional information on this topic:
WOODMAN, T. et al. (2010) Self-confidence and performance: A little
self-doubt helps. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11 (6), p. 467-470
HATZIGEORGIADIS, A. et al. (2011) Self-Talk and Sports Performance A
Meta-Analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6 (4), p. 348-356
BRANDEN, N. (2011) How to raise your self-esteem: the proven actionoriented approach to greater self-respect and self-confidence. Random
House LLC.

ArticleReference
[1]

The information on this page is adapted from Karageoghis (2007)

kind permission of Electric Word plc.

with the

PageReference
If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for
this page is:
MACKENZIE, B. (2008) Self Confidence [WWW] Available from:
https://www.brianmac.co.uk/selfcon.htm [Accessed 27/10/2016]

RelatedPages
The following Sports Coach pages provide additional information on this topic:

Articles on Sports Psychology Training

Books on Sports Psychology
Mental Imagery
Performance Profiling
Psychology
Relaxation
Relaxation Techniques
Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)
Stress Management
TEOSQ - Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire

AdditionalSourcesofInformation
For further information on this topic see the following:
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1996) Advanced Studies in Physical
Education and Sport. UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.
BEASHEL, P. and TAYLOR, J. (1997) The World of Sport Examined. UK:
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

 BIZLEY, K. (1994) Examining Physical Education. Oxford; Heinemann

Educational Publishers
DAVIS, B. et al. (2000) Physical Education and the Study of Sport. UK:
Harcourt Publishers Ltd.
GALLIGAN, F. et al. (2000) Advanced PE for Edexcel. Oxford;
Heinemann Educational Publishers
McARDLE, W. et al. (2000) Essentials of Exercise Physiology. 2nd ed.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
VILE, A. and BIGGS, J. (2004) Grace Under Pressure. UK; Lulu Press
ORLICK, T. (1986) Psyching for Sport. USA; Human Kinetics Publishers,
Inc.
HALE, B. (1998) Imagery Training. UK; The National Coach Foundation

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