If I were to ask you to picture in your mind the most confident version of yourself as a CrossFit athlete, Olympic weightlifter, motivational speaker or parent, how would you describe yourself? Many of you reading this are probably thinking, “I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and thought about this before” and it’s likely that some of you might be imagining yourself with your shoulders back feeling strong, confident and unfazed by the competition.
While these descriptions are accurate, a characteristic that goes unnoticed and unstated is belief. Belief is defined as a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing.
So let me ask you a couple of questions.
- Do you legitimately have belief in yourself?
- Do you possess the characteristic of being self-confident?
The one thing you can always be doing more of is strengthening the relationship you have with yourself. When I ask my personal athletes if they are feeling confident before they step foot in the gym or on the competition floor and if they truly believe in themselves, most of the time they will respond quickly and say “YES, OF COURSE COACH, I DO!”
But hear me out…
Contrary to what most people think, people who display a level of self-confidence often still doubt themselves or their abilities.
For example, elite athletes do occasionally report feelings of apprehension and pressure prior to competition but are still able to perform well.
Why is that?
Being confident doesn’t all of a sudden mean that there is going to be an absence of negative thoughts or feelings. Instead, self-confident athletes believe in their ability to perform well despite feelings such as apprehension and doubt.
Do you want to be more self-confident? Is this an area of your life that is oftentimes neglected?
You will find a handful of “bullet points” below showcasing the value and impact that comes from taking the time to focus and put in more reps when it comes to building true BELIEF in yourself every single day.
Always remember that confidence breeds confidence. The more you have, the better you will perform. The better you perform, the more confidence you will have. Whether it’s in life, work, or sport, a confident person always attracts positive energy and new opportunities.
In order to be successful, I have put together a list of five rules that you should follow in order to bring your confidence to a whole new level!
It shouldn’t take much, but let me convince you that working to develop, strengthen and manage your self-confidence is important via describing some amazing characteristics that are associated with high confidence.
- Work hard and chip away at your goals and vision little by little EVERY SINGLE DAY
- Focus on what you can control vs. what you cannot control
- Embrace challenge and discomfort, opportunity and growth lie within
- Don’t let your emotions get the best of you, most decisions dictated by pure emotion almost never result in your favor
- Do not fear failure or success
- If you want to be more confident, you need to understand that failure and success are going to come and go, but what stays consistent is your attitude, work ethic, and the choices that you make on a daily basis to improve yourself.
- A confident athlete always understands that whatever you play is only a game and your next opportunity is right around the corner. There’s no reason to be afraid of being successful because no matter how big it seems to you, once your opportunity for that day is over, everyone moves on to the next thing.
- All of the athletes that walk around with the most swagger are confident because they have a sense of self-pride that they built for themselves. It’s not because they had the best coaches, or spent the most amount of money possible on specialized training. It’s because they applied themselves every single day and taught themselves how to get better. This takes a ton of grit, and in turn, breeds confidence.
Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill, do the work to prepare for your chance, and be confident in trying to achieve the task. If you’re successful, great – build off of it. If you’re not, who cares – pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get ready to try it again.
When you’re teaching yourself, remember this one golden rule: No matter how much adversity you face, you cannot become your worst enemy.
Trying to develop quickness, become stronger, or work on the flaws of your game is hard enough with a coach right next to you. It’s even harder when you try to teach yourself. Don’t dwell on your mistakes or your failures and learn how to let them go.
Dwelling on your mistakes will only fill you with self-doubt, which is what you’re trying to get away from to develop confidence. Instead, challenge yourself to never be satisfied. Being hungry and being negative are two completely different things.
Of course, it’s easier said than done right? Confidence isn’t something that you can just turn on with the flip of a switch. It’s something that takes time to develop. Be RUTHLESS in your practice of those 5 rules I stated above.
Episodes 116 and 88 of the Brute Strength Podcast are a couple of fantastic episodes on the subject of confidence that you should listen to the next time you’re browsing through your library. If you’ve listened to them before, cue them up again. It’s never a bad idea to revisit old content because chances are, you’ll pick up something that you may have overlooked the first time around.
Give them a listen and remember, every little bit of effort you make each day to become stronger both physically and mentally will add up.
Before you know it, what you thought was unattainable in the past will seem like a walk in the park while you’re busy moving mountains.
