Confidence continued...

To develop internal confidence, you must focus your attention toward things that you are confident about. Don't focus on your weaknesses as many athletes do, instead focus on your strengths. Complete the following exercises, and take your confidence to the next level.

Part I

Answer these two questions in order, and do not skip ahead.

1. Can you name four pieces of equipment needed to play your sport?
2. Can you name four things that make you a great athlete?

Did you answer question # 1 much faster than question # 2?

Let's clarify what this means. Say you play hockey. If your coach told you to get ready to play and you asked him, "OK, besides the skates, what else do I need to put on?".. he would look at you like you have no business playing hockey.
It's the same for inner-confidence. If you don't know the characteristics that make you great, how will you know what to bring and rely on during a game? Your goal is to answer the first two questions without having to think about it.

Part II

List five things you can control during a game, that will get you the results you are looking for.

Look over your list. Is it predominantly actions (playing hard, communicating with my team, being a leader, being focused, etc.), or is it comprised of results (scoring, making a save, winning, making assists, etc.)?

During your sport, you can never completely control the results, you can only control your actions. For example, a hockey player skating down the ice is on a breakaway and prepares to take a shot on goal. Whether or not he scores is out of his control. A defenseman may interfere from behind, or the goalie may make a great save. What he can control however, is how hard he is skating, his positioning, his shot, etc.

To effectively build confidence, you must build it on a foundation of things you have control over. Do not focus on the results (such as scoring, making a save, etc.), since they involve external variables you have no control over. Approach the game concentrating on the internal variables, such as skating hard, positioning, digging for the puck, etc.

Rewrite your list now and make sure it is comprised of only actions. By focusing on actions, your results will come naturally