Building an Athlete's Confidence for Competition - February 2021
As competition season approaches, confidence is a word that is buzzing around the gym. As a gymnast myself, I would constantly hear the words; “Ariana, if you were just more confident.” or “Ariana, you are so talented you just need to believe in yourself.” And believe me, I tried several times to flip the switch in my head and be more confident. But as many of you know, confidence does not work like that. Having confidence takes practice and takes training; however, confidence is the one thing that will set athletes apart. So how do you build confidence? How are you able to become confident when your mind is flooded with thoughts of “I am never going to get this skill” or “I will never be as good as my competition.” Here are some tips to help you start flexing your confidence muscle.
Helpful Tips to Flex Your Confidence Muscle
Tip # 1: Emphasize your strengths and your success. Did you know that your brain is wired to think more negatively and to detect negative information faster than positive information? The brain is drawn to bad news or our failures as a way to help us survive. Your brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive, so you have to work that much harder at identifying your successes each day.
Tip # 2: Reframe how you look at certain situations. Don’t be afraid to fail! Failing is the only way to learn. Next time you make a mistake or don’t do as well in practice or a competition that you would like, remember use failures for new beginnings and remember strength comes from struggles.
Tip # 3: Teach your brain to specifically look for positive information. Did you know your brain has a matchmaker? It’s called the Reticular Activating System aka RAS. RAS filters all information from the outside world; however, it can only collect small amounts of information to process. And guess what? Your brain filters information that matches what you believe about yourself. So if you believe you are bad at beam it will only filter the information that fits with that belief. What is one way to help change what information your brain collects? Create an I am statement. An I am statement is a positive affirmation that is stated in the present tense. Examples…
* “I am fearless.”
* “I am unstoppable.”
* “I am valued.”
After creating your “I am” statement, commit to saying your I am statements at least 5x a day!
February Challenge
For the month of February, I am hosting a challenge to help gymnasts increase their confidence. If you are the winner of the challenge, you win a FREE mental training session for your entire team!
So, what do you have to do?
1. Create an “I am poster” (Get as creative as you like!)
2. Take a picture with it and post it on either Instagram on Facebook.
3. Tag @themindfulgymnast on Instagram or Ariana LeBlanc on Facebook
4. All entries have to be posted by Sunday, February 28th
5. Drawing of the winner with be Monday, March 1st
Follow me on Instagram: @themindfulgymnast and Facebook: Ariana LeBlanc