7 Habits That Can Destroy and Athlete’s Confidence and How to Break Them
Confidence and self-esteem are terms you likely hear all the time and are often discussed in sports settings. There’s a good reason for that. Both of these can lay the foundation for our athlete-identity and are crucial to driving factors for your success as an athlete.
What is the Difference Between Confidence and Self-Esteem?
Imagine stepping onto the field or court with an unshakable belief in your abilities, ready to take on any challenge and bounce back from setbacks. That’s the power of confidence and self-esteem in action.
Confidence refers to the belief in your abilities. It’s the driving force that allows you to step out of your comfort zone, tackle new challenges, and pursue your athletic goals despite obstacles. Self-esteem, on the other hand, is how you evaluate your worth as a person. It’s about how you see yourself, your accomplishments, and your interactions with others. While both are interconnected, confidence often plays a larger role in how teen athletes respond to high-pressure situations in sports. Confidence is a foundation for athletic performance, especially for teenage athletes navigating the challenges of sports and personal development.
Confidence is not a fixed trait and we can experience different levels of confidence depending on the situation and our current state. However, certain habits can erode this vital trait, getting in the way of both our success and enjoyment with sports. Here are seven detrimental habits that can destroy confidence in sports, along with strategies to overcome them. By identifying and addressing these seven habits, teenage athletes can cultivate a stronger sense of confidence, enhancing both their performance and enjoyment in sports.
7 Habits That Can Destroy Our Confidence
1. Negative Self-Talk
Engaging in negative self-talk involves internalizing self-defeating thoughts like "I can't do this" or "I'm not good enough." This mindset can diminish self-esteem and performance.
What You Can Do About Negative Self-Talk:
Awareness: Recognize when negative thoughts arise.
Challenge Thoughts: Question the validity of these thoughts. Ask yourself, "Is this thought based on facts or assumptions?"
Positive Affirmations: Replace negativity with positive statements, such as "I am capable and improving every day."
Implementing these strategies can shift your mindset from self-doubt to self-assurance.
2. Perfectionism
Elite athletes have high standards for themselves and often strive for excellence. To be clear, setting high standards and striving for excellence is great. However, it is important to differentiate between excellence and constant perfection. Striving for perfection sets unrealistic standards, leading to constant dissatisfaction and fear of failure. This can cause anxiety and decreased confidence.
What You Can Do About Perfectionism:
· Recognize the Difference Between Excellence and Perfection and Set Realistic Goals: Think about your favorite professional athlete. Do they ever miss or mistakes? Of course. Do you think less of them as an overall athlete when they miss or make mistakes or do you still respect their skill? Understanding that mistakes are part of the game will protect our reactions form damaging our confidence and give us the confidence to approach mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth.
Embrace Mistakes: View errors as opportunities for growth rather than as failures.
Self-Compassion: Treat yourself with kindness, acknowledging that no one is perfect.
Recognize the Difference Between Excellence and Perfection and Set Realistic Goals: Mistakes happen
By adjusting your expectations, you can reduce pressure and build a healthier self-image.
3. Avoiding Challenges
Shying away from difficult tasks or competitions due to fear of failure can stunt growth and erode confidence over time.
What You Can Do to Stop Avoiding Challenges
Growth Mindset: Adopt the belief that abilities can be developed through effort and learning.
Gradual Exposure with Realistic Goals: Start with smaller challenges and progressively take on more difficult ones to build confidence. Make sure that these challenges are outside of slightly outside of your comfort zone, but still realistic. By achieving these goals, you will start to build trust in your ability to handle challenges and continue to challenge yourself further.
Reflect on Experiences: After facing a challenge, assess what went well and areas for improvement. Be sure to see areas for improvement as growth opportunities that can improve with practice.
By continuing to face challenges and creating opportunities to be successful, you will begin to realize that you can survive them and you will gradually build confidence in your current abilities and your belief that you can handle new challenges.
4. Overthinking
Excessively analyzing what you are doing can be paralyzing. Athletes who overthink can get so caught up in small details and worried about not making mistakes, that they actually underperform.
What You Can Do About Overthinking:
Mindfulness Practices: Engage in mindfulness or meditation to stay present and reduce overthinking.
Simplify Focus: Concentrate on one aspect of performance at a time during practice and competition.
Trust Your Practice and Training: There’s a reason that we train and have practices- it prepares us for competition so that we feel ready, and actions feel more automatic. Having confidence in the skills developed during practice can prevent overanalyzing them during performance.
A quiet mind can enhance performance and confidence.
5. Comparing Ourselves to Others
Constantly measuring oneself against peers can lead to feelings of inadequacy and decreased self-worth.
What You Can Do About Comparisons:
Self-Reflection: Focus on personal progress and achievements rather than what others are doing.
Limit Social Media: Reduce exposure to platforms that may trigger comparison, particularly before competitions and performances. When we spend time scrolling, we are watching the dreams and progress of others instead of focusing on ourselves.
Celebrate Your Successes: Acknowledge and take pride in your accomplishments, no matter how small.
Emphasizing personal growth over comparison fosters a healthier self-image.
6. Seeking Constant Approval
When we rely on external validation, our confidence is fragile and prone to someone else’s opinions.
What You Can Do About Approval-Seeking:
Internal Validation: Develop self-approval by setting personal standards and recognizing your achievements.
Self-Awareness: Understand your values and what success means to you, independent of others' opinions.
Limit Feedback: While constructive feedback is valuable, avoid seeking excessive approval from others.
Building internal validation leads to more stable and resilient confidence.
7. Neglecting Priorities Outside of Sports
Sports are and should be a huge part of an elite athlete’s life. Being an athlete is likely a big part of your identity. However, it is important to make sure that sports aren’t the only thing important thing in your life and your entire identity. When we neglect other priorities, we are prone to decreased performance, diminished confidence, burnout, and mental and physical illness.
What You Can Do About It:
Balanced Lifestyle: Ensure adequate rest, nutrition, and time for relaxation. Identify at least one non-sports-related interest and dedicate regular time to learning about and developing that interest.
Mental Health Support: Seek support from coaches, mentors, or counselors when needed.
Set Boundaries: Learn to say no to avoid overcommitment and ensure time for self-care.
Prioritizing well-being lays the foundation for sustained confidence and performance.
Remember, we are not born with confidence and knowing how to do something. These skills are learned. Our earlier experiences may have shaped your current confidence and self-esteem, but these qualities are not fixed. Like any skill, they require effort and practice to maintain and grow.
Need more help with confidence and developing stronger mindset habits? Reach out to learn more!