How to Create Your Own Self-Confidence
“Got Confidence?”
What baseball player hasn’t seen this phrase plastered on a t-shirt or poster?
Many baseball players would respond to “Got Confidence?” with “Not a lot”.
One reason why athletes suffer with a lack of confidence is their lack of knowledge about how to build confidence.
Before we examine how to build confidence, let’s first identify what destroys confidence.
One of the biggest confidence wreckers is negative self-talk, more specifically how you describe yourself internally.
Negative self-descriptions become performance afflictions. Talk ill about your ability to hit with runners in scoring position, “I can’t hit under pressure”, and you will have difficulty driving runs in.
Talking poorly about your ability to locate pitches, “I walk way too many batters every game,” will cause you problems finding the strike zone.
Asking yourself, “Why can I never field the ball cleanly?” will result in an increase in fielding errors
These negative self-statements become self-directions or self-fulfilling prophecies. By giving yourself negative directives, you are increasing the probability of the very thing you want to avoid.
Now that you see what detracts from confidence, you can use the opposite to build confidence.
Example of Self-Confidence
New York Mets pitcher Marcus Stroman is a highly confident pitcher. At 5 feet 7 inches, Stroman is one of the shortest pitchers in the game, but he has no shortage of confidence.
In six major league seasons, Stroman’s record is 51-47 with an ERA of 3.77, not eye-popping statistics by any standard.
How can anyone be confident with numbers like that?
If you heard his preseason news confidence, you would clearly see where he generates such confidence.
The following quotes from Stroman’s conference will give you insight of how positive self-statements can build high confidence.
- “I think I’m the best on the field whenever I’m out there — always. That’s how I was raised by my father and it’s how I continue to be.”
- “I think I’m going to be good — really good. I think I should be dominant.”
- “I think I have the best core [muscles] in the league. I do. I put a lot of work into that.”
- “I’m going to go out there and throw 200-plus innings this year and be dominant.”
- “The more pressure it is, the more I lock it in. I’m not scared of any moment. I fear nobody.”
- “I also have the best sinker in the league.”
With such positive self-statements, there is no doubt that Stroman will have the confidence needed to deal with all the ups and downs of a long baseball season.
Building Your Confidence
Change the message and you will change the belief. Self-doubt will pop into your head; it’s normal. But you cannot allow the negativity to take root. You need to talk to yourself about your strengths, positive attributes, successes and the work you have put into your game to hone your craft. If you follow this prescription, confidence will come.
Exercise: Affirmation Creation
You can generate positive self-statements by creating constructive affirmations.
For Example:
- “I work hard to develop a stronger arsenal of pitches.”
- “I love the challenge of bringing runners home.”
- “My fielding is my asset.”
Focusing on 3-4 affirmations or self-supporting evidence, you can proactively build confidence.