Confidence is one of the biggest elements that is necessary in every single area of our lives. Whether you are an athlete, a performer, or simply looking to succeed in elements such as public speaking and test taking, confidence is a must! However, confidence can be relatively tricky as there are many layers which we need to develop in order to achieve “Bulletproof Confidence” .
Instead of getting into every single layer of confidence and how each of them impacts individuals, I am going to share with you guys our top five ways in which we can build higher levels of confidence!
Positive Self -Talk
Funny enough, self-talk is one of the things which we practice most often throughout our day. With every thought and opinion we are directly engaging in self-talk. It is important to understand that there is positive self-talk as well as negative self-talk. As we focus on our self-talk, we want to make sure that our emphasis is primarily on the positive. In order to build higher levels of confidence we must focus on reiterating positive thoughts, consistently looking to prove ourselves with positive feedback, and most importantly we must focus on making sure that we are our own biggest fan!
Positive Body Language
Maintaining a positive body language does a lot more than simply tell others around you that you are not feeling confident. Our body language creates chemical changes in our brain which release a variety of endorphins and chemicals. Depending on how our body language is, the brain will respond accordingly and secrete chemicals which either make us feel positive or negative. A simple focal point here is as follows : When feeling frustrated, upset, defeated, or simply not confident, focus on keeping your chin up which drives your eyesight at straight and neutral level, as well as keeping the shoulders back and the chest out. Additionally, when resting you may want to place both of your hands on your hips while maintaining a strong posture as this is known as a “power stance”.
Visualization
Visualization is one of the most powerful ways in which we can increase confidence! It is extremely important that we understand that visualization is simply the equivalent of physical repetition of a skill, but from a psychological perspective. The same way we practice a jump shot, a forehand, a serve, exploding off the block, etc, we must also practice visualizing these elements. When it comes to visualization we must focus on seeing ourselves succeed in doing the elements of our performance which we must execute most often. If you are struggling with confidence, we suggest that you stay away from visualizing the “WOW” moments and focus a lot more on the small elements which allow you to find your groove throughout the competition.
Setting Process Goals
Setting process goals is all about focusing on what is in front of you. All the athletes which we work with know very well that outcome goals should not be the primary focus in your development stages. Additionally, if you are struggling with confidence, outcome goals have no place in your goal setting repertoire until we can build your confidence once again! Setting process goals focuses on small details as well as goals which you can 100% control. It is important that we remain realistic with our goal setting as well as making sure that we can track and measure our success for these goals. Lastly, do not forget that we must have timelines for every goal that we set.
Celebrating the small wins
Celebrating the small wins is a very simple concept, however when we are lacking in confidence this may feel impossible. We encourage everyone to set aside 15-20 minutes per day and look to identify the positives out of their day. We urge you to look for the small things and understand that those small successes and achievements are worth just as much if not more than the BIG wins. Never forget that life is like a gigantic puzzle, and without each small piece we will never be able to get to the big beautiful picture!