How to build up your self-confidence

In sports, self-confidence is one of the main psychological factors that differentiate successful athletes from those who perform less well. Even if you are very talented, a lack of confidence can prevent you from reaching your full potential. How can you expect to perform well when you question your abilities? We reveal valuable secrets to help you stop doubting yourself, or at least to believe in your ability to improve.

What is self-confidence?

Self-confidence (or perceived self-efficacy) refers to a person's beliefs about their ability to perform one or more actions in order to achieve a goal. It is not based on a rational assessment of our skills, but rather on what we believe we can do with our abilities in different situations. It determines how we think, react, and behave.

Our level of confidence can vary not only in different areas of our lives (work, sports), but also in different aspects of the same activity. Take cycling, for example: a cyclist might feel confident during a sprint, but much less so during a long climb.

Can you develop self-confidence?

Yes, but it remains fragile. Maintaining strong self-confidence is difficult because it is largely built and modified on the basis of past successes. A single poor performance, whether in competition or training, can shake it. Since it can fluctuate, it is important to put strategies in place to promote consistency and resilience.

Where to begin?

Different aspects of confidence can be targeted. The choice depends on your sports schedule. If you are in the off-season or early preseason, you are probably focusing your efforts on your overall development. In this sense, it is important to increase your confidence in your ability to develop, i.e., to learn and improve.

How can we increase our confidence in our ability to grow?

It starts with our mindset. It is better to prioritize agrowth mindset rather than afixed mindset.

As Carol S. Dweck, professor of social psychology at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, points out, there are two types of mindset.

First, the fixed mindset. People with this mindset believe that their abilities and talents are innate and unchangeable. They don't allow themselves the luxury of "becoming" good: they must already "be" good. They invest themselves in challenges that are within their reach and that allow them to demonstrate their abilities. For example, they prefer to do types of training they are familiar with, in which they already excel. They use their results to boost their self-esteem. When training requires too much effort or risk-taking, they lose interest for fear of damaging their image. These people fear failure.

On the other hand, there is the growth mindset. People with this mindset believe that their skills and talents can be developed. For them, success is based less on perfection or results and more on learning, perseverance, and effort. For example, they love training that takes them out of their comfort zone. They like to take risks and are not afraid of failure. For them, failure is an opportunity to learn and improve.

Therefore, approaching training with a growth mindset means being open to evolving, exploring, surpassing oneself, and visiting unknown areas within ourselves, without being consumed by the fear of failure. This mindset allows us to better manage the unknown, obstacles, challenges, or pressure that could potentially destabilize us.

How can we foster a growth mindset?

By cultivating good self-awareness. We must pay attention to our thoughts and emotions in order to determine whether we have more of a fixed or growth mindset (yes, it is possible to have both, but one is always dominant).

We also want to learn to talk (or think) in a more productive way. Strategies for achieving this include:

- acknowledge our imperfections and mistakes

- Replace the word " failure " with the word " learning."

- prioritize learning over getting it right the first time or gaining the approval of others

- take risks by allowing yourself to make mistakes

- Focus on progress, skill development, and practice in uncomfortable areas rather than perfection.

- use the word yet ( as in the sentence: "I haven't mastered this technique yet")

In summary, self-confidence is fragile, but it can be developed. If you are in a phase of development, it is important to focus on building strong confidence in your ability to improve. To do this, you must prioritize a growth mindset, which will not only allow you to invest your energy in learning and developing your skills, but will also lead you to feel more confident no matter what happens.

 

Suggested reading

Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2nd ed.), New York, Ballantine Books, 2016.

Robin S. Vealey, "A periodization approach to building confidence in athletes," in Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, vol. 1, no. 12, 2018.