I AM THE GREATEST. I SAID THAT BEFORE I EVEN KNEW I WAS.
-MUHAMMAD ALI
I spend a lot of time working out with friends, trying to instill in them the passion I have for physical activity and self-improvement. In our training, I will often issue challenges. If they think they can do 10 reps of an exercise, I will tell them to do 15. Not because I want to see them fail; just the opposite, in fact. I want to see them succeed beyond what they believed they could do. Simply by having the belief that they can do more, I am able to help them knock out those last couple of reps. If you tell yourself you can only do 10, you will only do 10. But if you tell yourself you can do more, you can. It’s all about believing in yourself.
To me, belief is the most fundamental building block of action. We can want to do something, we can plan to do something, but if we don’t believe we are capable of doing it, we never will. Who is going to exert time, money, and effort on something they don’t believe they can do? Who is going to continue going when their body is telling them to stop, when their legs and feet hurt, and their lungs are screaming? Those people who, with all of their being, are confident that they are capable of overcoming the obstacle in front of them, and any hindrance they will encounter.
To me, belief is the most fundamental building block of action. We can want to do something, we can plan to do something, but if we don’t believe we are capable of doing it, we never will. Who is going to exert time, money, and effort on something they don’t believe they can do? Who is going to continue going when their body is telling them to stop, when their legs and feet hurt, and their lungs are screaming? Those people who, with all of their being, are confident that they are capable of overcoming the obstacle in front of them, and any hindrance they will encounter.
How Confidence Helps 1
Positive emotions: When you feel confident, you feel good. When you feel good, you play well.
Concentration: If you're confident, you don't worry about potential failures or consequences of poor performance. You are better able to concentrate on the task at hand, and focus all of your energy on that task.
Goal-setting: If you're confident you can achieve your goals, you set more challenging goals and push yourself. Remember in goal setting, "realistic but achievable." That means something very different for a confident athlete than it does for an athlete lacking confidence.
Effort: If you think you can do something, you're more likely to put the necessary effort into completing it.If you don't think you can do it, why would you push yourself?
Psychological momentum: Confidence breeds more confidence. If you succeed, you get on a sort of "roll," leading to increased confidence, and better performances.
Concentration: If you're confident, you don't worry about potential failures or consequences of poor performance. You are better able to concentrate on the task at hand, and focus all of your energy on that task.
Goal-setting: If you're confident you can achieve your goals, you set more challenging goals and push yourself. Remember in goal setting, "realistic but achievable." That means something very different for a confident athlete than it does for an athlete lacking confidence.
Effort: If you think you can do something, you're more likely to put the necessary effort into completing it.If you don't think you can do it, why would you push yourself?
Psychological momentum: Confidence breeds more confidence. If you succeed, you get on a sort of "roll," leading to increased confidence, and better performances.
Confidence vs. Efficacy
Confidence
Confidence is our belief in our ability to perform any number of tasks. This is more of a trait (pervades across all domains) vs. a state (specific to one, or a few, domains). We all know people who are inherently confident: you can notice it when they walk into a room; it’s almost palpable. They seem to be good at everything they do, and they know it. Confidence exists on a continuum spanning from “no confidence” all the way to “overconfident.” Existing at either extreme can be detrimental to performance, and can hinder your ability to make real, concrete, lasting changes.
Efficacy
Efficacy is our belief in our ability to perform a specific task (e.g. shoot a free throw) in order to achieve a specific outcome (e.g. to ice a game). You can think about this as a state-specific form of confidence; we have certain levels of efficacy for a variety of tasks. While you may have high self-efficacy in one domain (e.g. dribbling a basketball), you may have lower efficacy in others (e.g. shooting a 3-pointer).
Sources of Self-Confidence1
Mastery: Learn, practice, and master new skills. If you feel confident in your ability to perform a necessary skill (shooting a free-throw), you'll be better able to handle potential challenges that come along with it (late-game anxiety).
Demonstration of Ability: Think back on past successes in your sport. Think about times you've performed to the best of your ability, and outperformed opponents. This is a great place to get confidence.
Physical and Mental Prep: You spent all the time training your body and mind for competition, so you should feel prepared! The harder you work in practice, the more ready you will feel when the time comes to perform in a game.
Social Support: This can be family, friends, or teammates. Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
Coaches' Leadership: Trust your coaches. If you don't have confidence in your coaches, you won't have confidence that they're putting you in the best position to succeed.
Vicarious Experience: Watch your teammates perform successfully. If they can do a certain move, you can too!
Environmental Comfort: To perform at a high level, you must feel comfortable in the environment. This is a big part of why a home-field advantage helps. If you have an away game, get there early, and get comfortable.
Situational Favorableness: Sometimes when you're on, you're really on. Everything seems to be going your way. Draw on this, and use it to your advantage.
Demonstration of Ability: Think back on past successes in your sport. Think about times you've performed to the best of your ability, and outperformed opponents. This is a great place to get confidence.
Physical and Mental Prep: You spent all the time training your body and mind for competition, so you should feel prepared! The harder you work in practice, the more ready you will feel when the time comes to perform in a game.
Social Support: This can be family, friends, or teammates. Surround yourself with people who believe in you.
Coaches' Leadership: Trust your coaches. If you don't have confidence in your coaches, you won't have confidence that they're putting you in the best position to succeed.
Vicarious Experience: Watch your teammates perform successfully. If they can do a certain move, you can too!
Environmental Comfort: To perform at a high level, you must feel comfortable in the environment. This is a big part of why a home-field advantage helps. If you have an away game, get there early, and get comfortable.
Situational Favorableness: Sometimes when you're on, you're really on. Everything seems to be going your way. Draw on this, and use it to your advantage.
Weinberg, R., & Gould, D. (2007). Self-Confidence. In Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (5th ed., pp. 319-341). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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