Mindset Monday 11/7/11- Growing Confidence (Factor 3 of 4)

Growing Confidence

I spoke at the University of Pennsylvania Coaches Clinic at Wrestle-offs yesterday. I spoke about the ideal mindset in sports and performance- Flow. One of the five factors that lead to the Flow state is Confidence.

We all know how important Confidence is to our success. Most coaches tell their athletes to be confident and believe in themselves, without telling them exactly how to do this. Perhaps this is because most coaches do not know how to do this themselves.

Don’t be too hard on the coaches, sport and performance psychology is still relatively new. It is however a scientific field, and we do know how to improve confidence.

One of the four major ways to improve confidence is Verbal Persuasion or Pep talks. This is a way many coaches choose to appeal to athletes. Probably because they have seen this approach work in sports movies.

But this verbal persuasion goes beyond pep talks from coaches. It extends to the individual’s personal preference even to an unconscious level.

If you are looking to raise your confidence, you need to have a good understanding of your own personal confidence buttons. What movies make you believe in yourself? What songs give you more swagger? Are there speeches you have heard that make you believe? Are there quotes that make you believe that the world is yours? If you do not know your buttons, you will certainly not be able to press them when you need it most.

Write down your confidence buttons on paper. Review them frequently. This will ensure that in moments of doubt, you will have your buttons fresh in your memory. Control your confidence levels. Come to a Z Fanatical seminar and Get Fanatical!

Gene Zannetti
Owner of Z-Fanatical Fitness
Z-Personal Trainer, One-on-One Consultant & Motivational Speaker
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
www.zfanatical.com