Confidence is almost like this mythical destination that we are constantly chasing or striving towards. Although it may be difficult to describe, we know when we perform confidently and we damn sure know when we lack confidence in performance, but what is it?
Having confidence in our skill set is a deep trust or faith in our ability to perform a physical skill or task in our sport. Our confidence can be bolstered at times by others’ belief in us; but, ultimately, we have to believe in our own abilities to go out there and perform at our best.
While Self-belief and confidence are tightly linked, there is a distinct difference between the two. Self-Belief is the way we feel about ourselves on the inside. It’s intrinsic. It runs deeper than our achievements & competencies. Self-belief gives us the courage to follow our dreams and trust that things will work out for the best. It’s a set of rules that guide us on our own personal path of success.
Confidence, on the other hand is how we project ourselves to the outside world. It can be developed through overcoming obstacles or by working to improve a skill. Confidence is extrinsic. It is external of us. It is possible to look confident on the outside yet have a low level of self-belief or self-worth within. You see this a lot in the world of sports with egos and arrogance being a common trait with some athletes.
So, why do we put so much value on performing with confidence? Well, our confidence can help or hinder performance because it facilitates concentration, affects goals, impacts effort, and a whole lot more. All of these are key aspects in performing well, and is affected by our levels of confidence.
Increased confidence also plays a major role in performing in the flow state or ‘in a zone’. This is the equivalent to performing on autopilot. It is a deep trust that your body can read and react from muscle memory. Which is actually the neural pathways embedded into the subconscious mind that allows our body to read and react. It is the body and mind aligned in the present moment. In sports you’re either performing in your body or performing in your head. Meaning you’re either trusting your skill set or trying to control everything through conscious thought.
Our ability to perform with confidence is also linked with how mentally tough we are as athletes. There will always be adversity, distractions, momentum swings in competition and along the journey. How resilient we are to these factors, and our ability to focus on the task impacts our levels of self-confidence.
When I really made the push to play pro basketball, I was working out consistently 6 days a week. My greatest achievements in the sport came during this time. I was fortunate enough to experience the flow state on numerous occasions throughout this time, and this is when I figured that my increased confidence must be coming from the practice and repetition I was lodging. I’d heard that hard work breeds confidence, but it wasn’t till I was putting in this level of work that I started to believe that statement to be true.
It wasn’t until after my career and well into my studies that I came across the psychology model of the 4 stages of skill mastery. But before I get into that, I want to break down and debunk some of the common misconceptions you may have heard around confidence.
Myth 1: We have to feel confident before we can take action.
Confidence is actually the result of taking action. Every time we do something new, there is a level of fear that steps in. It’s just how we are designed as humans, it’s normal, we can’t palm that part off. In sport, there is a level of risk. We may miss or make shots, win or lose, or even look silly sometimes. But with stepping into that risk we can’t grow. These experiences provide us with such valuable learnings or more comfort in performing the skill or task the next time. Familiarity allows us to develop confidence.
Furthermore there is a model in positive psychology called the confidence-competence loop. Basically it says, the more competent you are at a skill, the more confident you feel. In turn, the more confident you feel in performing that skill, the more competent you are to achieve success. Competence and confidence intertwined in a chicken-egg sort of way. You know which came first, the chicken or the egg? But it all starts with one step and that is the commitment to taking action.
Myth 2: Success equals confidence.
Not necessarily. While it’s true that success has the ability to boost confidence, there are many high achieving athletes and people in general that struggle with confidence. True confidence is linked with self-belief. It is based on self-awareness, self-acceptance and developed through a growth mindset. Even the most successful athletes experience self-doubt at times.
Myth 3: Confidence is aggressive.
Sometimes we mistake people who are loud, domineering, arrogant or aggressive as confident. This is simply not true. In fact, most of the time it’s the opposite. It’s a projection of insecurity. Bullies exude a fake confidence that comes from low self-worth. By belittling others they feel better about themselves.
Myth 4: People are born confident.
This is simply not true. Confidence is not a fixed trait that you either have or you don’t. Confidence is a skill that is developed like any other – through practice and repetition. It takes constant reflection and effort and dedication to grow and maintain.
So let’s take a look at confidence and it’s link to the 4 stages of skill mastery. This is why your hard work and commitment to deliberate practice paves the way for increased confidence. Think about when you first learn a skill. I may have done this on a previous episode but I’m going to use a basic skill in basketball as the example to walk you through each of the 4 levels.
The first stage is ‘Unconscious incompetence’. This is basically saying you don’t know what you don’t know. Let’s take a lay-up for example. If you were like me at the age of 6 or 7, you picked up at a basketball with the objective of putting the ball in the hoop. You, like me, were completely unaware that there was a proven process to achieving this.
Stage 2 is ‘Conscious Incompetence.’ This is the humbling part of mastering a skill. It’s when we become aware of the skill but realize we can’t yet perform it. This is basically saying we now know that we don’t know. Coach says alright, we’re going to practice layups as he walks you through the process of this new skill. For most, this is a frustrating experience as we make mistakes and errors. This is the stage that can cause people to quit or focus on other areas of skill. For you and I, this is where the practice and repeated practice kicks off.
Stage 3 is ‘Conscious competence.’ Conscious competence is when we are aware (conscious) that we can perform the skill (competent). This is where we can perform the lay-up but it takes a lot of concentration. For example, we may have to time our dribbling to get our steps right, or focus on hitting the corner of the square on the backboard for the shot to be successful. This is still clunky but the neural pathways that form are habits are now being formed.
Lastly, ‘Unconscious Competence.’ This is our autopilot. This is the stage where we can get a steal in a game and run in for a wide-open layup without thinking about it, or better yet make a lay-up while being fouled or over the out-stretched hands of the defender. The stronger we embed skills through repeated practice the more likely we can perform on autopilot. This is a major prerequisite to performing in flow more often and gives us the highest confidence in our ability. Put it this way, if you are working at your craft more than anyone else, your potential -what you are capable of achieving, will be at a higher level than anyone else. This is why deliberate practice is the foundation to performing with confidence.
There is a famous saying by a High School Basketball Coach by the name of Tim Notke. Although the original quote came from his mouth the quote was made famous by NBA star Kevin Durant. The quote is “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.” While most people think of talent as a god given gift, talent is a skill that has been refined through practice and repetition. No matter how genetically gifted someone might be, some of the greatest athletes in the world aren’t the ones that jump the highest or run the fastest, but those that have crafted a skill set that has paved the way for their success.
The reason why working hard at our craft is important is because it prepares us both physically and mentally for when we need to perform. The mind loves familiarity and comfort. That’s why doing anything for the first time or being in situations that aren’t familiar to us is scary. But in order to grow, develop and navigate elite pathways in sport we have to step outside of our comfort zone.
But preparation is more than just getting reps in. A pre-game routine adds a level of comfort. Visualization adds a level of familiarity. & Positive self-talk adds a level of resilience. Every element of preparation has a purpose.
But what about confidence in competition? You might feel that you prepare to the best of your ability but that one bad call or mistake in performance affects your confidence. First of all, this is triggered by your focus which then impacts upon confidence. The beauty of this is that we can shift our focus. Generally when unexpected or negative things happen, we give put energy into it which impacts What’s Important Now – This very task at hand. It is the mind trying to control something which it cannot fully control whether that be something that has already happened in the past or the what-if’s of the future. The fact of the matter is we can only control what we do in this moment. Our effort. Maximize your effort in this moment, on this play, and more times than not, the results will work in your favor. In turn, this will increase your confidence.
But one of the most important things to understand about confidence is that confidence is a verb. An action. A doing word. We have to make this mindset shift and think of confidence not just as something you feel, not just as something you are, but something you do.
We as athletes have certain traits when we are performing with the highest level of confidence and traits when we lack confidence. Grab yourself a pen and paper or you can write down in the notes section of your phone. Think about your best performances and ask yourself these questions?
- What did I think about/ What was I saying to myself when I felt confident?
- How did I feel when I was confident?
Really dive deep into the emotion? Google ’emotion wheel’ to help you with this if you’re stuck. And lastly…
- How did I act when I was confident?
How did I carry myself? How was my body posture? Here’s a clue most people who lack confidence shrink, go inward. If you want to feel confident, dominant, the athlete to beat, make yourself big.
Do this same activity for the games where you felt you lacked confidence. You might find this one easier to do because our negative bias highlights the negative thoughts, emotions, and actions more.
Once you start to learn about how you think, feel and act when you’re confident, you can start to replicate that in preparation and in competition. Our physiology impacts our psychology and vice versa. Meaning the way we think and feel affects how we act, and how we act affects how we think and feel. Confidence takes action and acting confident isn’t just in your thoughts.
Let me know your high confidence traits in the comments below.