Unlock Your Confidence: The Power of Belief in Athletes

The definition of confidence is simple—a belief in one's ability to perform a task. However, we tend to focus solely on honing our skills, the ability piece, without addressing the underlying belief piece, which is crucial to unleashing our full potential as athletes and people.

Beliefs shape our reality. When we repeatedly think, feel, and act in a certain way, those thoughts become our truths. 

Let’s examine how beliefs form and influence our performance using the example of a basketball player who excels at passing but lacks confidence in shooting.

“I have become a pretty good point guard, and have found all my success from finding open teammates and getting them the ball. I don’t shoot, I’m always looking to pass.”

Do you hear this belief?... “I pass, I don’t shoot!” 

As we discussed earlier, beliefs are formed through a cycle of repetitive thinking, feeling, and acting. Now, let's take a closer look at an athlete's thought process. How many times has the belief "I pass, I don't shoot" echoed in their mind? This recurring thought triggers corresponding emotions like anxiety and a fear of failure when it comes to shooting. And, naturally, they tend to remember and recall the misses they did attempt to shoot, as our focus shapes our memories as humans.

But here's the exciting part: we can change our beliefs, and there are powerful tools to do it. 

Step One is becoming aware of the beliefs that no longer serve us. In our example, the limiting belief is "I pass, I don’t shoot!" This belief might have served us well in the past, but it's time to move forward as my expectations grow so must my beliefs.

Step Two involves creating a better belief, one that empowers us. For instance, "I am a successful shooting point guard that my team counts on to score." This new belief becomes the foundation of our confidence journey.

Moving on to Step Three, we use affirmations and visualization to reinforce our new beliefs. By repetitively affirming our new identity and visualizing ourselves as the successful shooting point guard, we program our minds for success. Our minds don't distinguish between reality and imagination; they memorize this as a new truth.

The final step is implementing this newfound confidence on the court. We use our body language to embody the state of success we felt during affirmations and visualizations. This aligns our mental and physical skills, taking our performance to new heights.

Changing beliefs is challenging, but it's a transformative process well worth the effort. 

Join us on this journey of self-empowerment and witness the tremendous impact belief can have on your performance. Don't just work on your physical skills; start nurturing your mindset today and unlock your true potential on and off the court, field, and the practice field we call life.