Confidence is EVERYTHING!
Being a young successful athlete has never been easy. With the pressures coming from friends, family and expectations that may seem impossible to reach, athletes face challenging circumstances everyday. The ability to be successful consists of many factors; nature, nurture, consistency in training and the ability to believe in yourself. Confidence is the determining factor between athlete’s getting to the next level in their development or staying stagnant and never reaching their potential.
How do you become confident? For some it’s natural. Everyone has their own personality and upbringing which does play a very important role in how people react in situations. I, myself have parents who instilled in me a strong belief in goal setting and acquisition of those very same goals. It took time for me to become the athlete that I wanted to become but the journey of my development was nurtured in an environment of confidence mainly gained from my parents. I also have a strong belief in God who I believe allows me to do things that are inconceivable. Again all these examples are personal and not necessarily the only way to get confidence. You can gain confidence through life experiences like victory or defeat. Winning will give you confidence. It’s that feeling of success that will allow you to want it again and again. Defeat will help you learn what you did wrong so the next time you compete you can avoid the mistakes you made.
One of the best ways to gain confidence is to be comfortable with yourself. The beauty of life is there is only one of you. There is no one before you or after you that will be you. Being comfortable in your “own skin” can have a magnified effect on actions you take and outcomes you perceive. You must love yourself and accept who you are. Once these self assessments are achieved this is the beginning of how Champions are created.
It doesn’t matter how talented you are. If you do not believe in yourself you will never reach your true potential. Confidence isn’t arrogance or narcism in any means. It’s the awakening of being truly alive. Confidence is EVERYTHING!