Confidence as a fundamental element in sports performance

"Not what we are keeps us away from performance, but what we think we are not" It is said that the weakest driver is not the one who drives badly or the inexperienced, but the one who hesitates the most. You may be a more inexperienced driver, but if you do not hesitate, you will go further than the one who hesitates. Confidence describes how we deal with failures or challenges that can threaten self-image and the feeling of self-efficacy. Athletes with a high level of confidence will accept that defeats are a necessary part of a athlete's journey and that they are inevitable. The confident sportsman's response to his own strengths is that of resetting, accepting the present situation and reorienting it to the next objective.
 
The unreliable athlete's answer is that of frustration and doubt, the defeat hits hard on the self-image and the feeling of ineffectiveness. The feeling of effectiveness is the belief that you have enough skills to perform the action or to cope with the rigors of future situations. The effectiveness is based on a strong and positive episodic memory of the successes of similar situations and at the same time the belief that the future sporting activity can be successfully accomplished. The confidence of a sportsman is not strengthened by statements such as "trust", "be a man". Any athlete who hears these statements knows that many other factors are needed.
 
Among the correlational factors of trust are optimism, life satisfaction, self-image, feeling of efficacy and anxiety as a personality trait (which contributes to lower confidence). Athletes who have a feeling of effectiveness will see the problems as tasks that offer an acceptable and possible level of challenge, have a higher level of interest in the activities they participate in (they seek to understand and overcome mental barriers in competitions), form a dedication strong and persevering towards his sporting interests and recover very quickly from mistakes and defeats.
 
How can confidence be cultivated? George Orwell stated in his paper, 1984, that "he who controls the past controls the future, and who controls the present controls the past." Therefore, as a sports psychologist, confidence can be cultivated by working at the three times (past, present and future). Athletes who live too long in the past are athletes who are depressed, ashamed, guilty or blasphemed. They have in the past left their expectations unfulfilled, and once the connection between effectiveness and desires (goals) is broken, they become fearful about their future. Athletes who live too much in the future, do so either because of the fear of future challenges that threaten their sense of confidence, or because they live the unhappy experience of a present and anticipate a brighter future.
 
In the past, trust is strengthened by a vivid and powerful memory of past successes similar to the challenges of the immediate future. In the future, confidence is strengthened by successfully viewing future challenging situations. These exercises of controlling the past and the future are done only through the careful planning of mental training. But powerful and confident athletes are able to focus on their controllable present despite the current threats.
At present, confidence has to do with the display of a straight physical position, a controlled breathing, a positive internal dialogue, a special physical condition, the knowledge of one's own game scenario and the gradual overcoming of the challenges. These challenges are part of the athlete's daily training and without careful measurement, without a positive feedback from his team, the athlete will either experience over-confidence or mistrust.
 
Finally, I leave you with the assertions of Henry Ford who stated: "either you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right." Belief in its own possibilities transmits the direct and determined message to the muscular and cardiorespiratory system of the athlete, corroborated with a high and constant level of his effort, which helps him reach his potential. The total or partial absence of this belief (hesitation, doubt) transmits to the muscular system a neuro-chemical blockade that will lead to the confirmation of the negative expectations of the athlete and at the same time to the experiment of failure.
 
Sports psychologist, Ioan Popoviciu