“Confidence is contagious. So is the lack of it.” Vince Lombardi

Repetitive, doom-laden thoughts are common to athletes. Such thoughts are both a feature of depressed, out-of-balance neurochemistry and of the way that memory is networked.

Because depressed neurochemistry focuses on negativity, your thoughts dwell on sad things that happened in game, such as times of loss, failure and disappointments. You remember one time something went wrong, memory networks light up for all the times something similar went wrong, forming a category of things going wrong. And, because depressed minds ruminate, repetitively revisiting that network, that category then solidifies into an “It has always (never) been this way,” way of thinking.

Such self-defeating habits often stem from our learning early in life, and are so deeply ingrained in our football mind that we repeat them over and over, despite the sometimes obvious ways in which they do not work.

Now there’s a tool for changing those habits: bringing focus to our unconscious patterns. Sport psychologists call it “focused mind whispering”.

Mind whispering refers to our ability to tune into what are usually invisible emotional patterns; habitual ways we react that get triggered over and over.

These habits typically play out beyond the light of awareness. But intentionally focusing on those patterns lets us bring them into the light of awareness – and once we see the habit and its negative outcomes, we have the chance to change them for the better.

Follow these five simple steps to build your confidence and develop an awareness of your habits:

Familiarize yourself with the self-defeating habit – Get so you can recognize the routine as it starts, or begins to take over. This might be by noticing its typical thoughts or feelings, or how you start to act. You can also follow a simple suggestion: keep a journal of your triggers.

Be mindful – Monitor your behavior – thoughts, feelings, and actions – from a neutral, “witness” awareness.

Remember the alternatives – Think of a better way to handle the situation.

Choose something better – e.g., what you say or do that would be helpful instead of self-defeating.

Do this at every naturally occurring opportunity – Shifting habits works better with a fuller understanding of the brain systems underlying both your habits and how mindfulness helps you manage the brain – and how to rewire.

The practice of mindfulness opens up the mental space that allows you to see your self-defeating habits as such rather than having them control what you say and do – and how you say it and do it – again and again and again.

Self-defeating behavior will only lead you down a path of destructions. Don’t worry about how good someone else is. Instead, focus on what you are good at.

Be different. Be unique. Be someone that others will want to emulate.

Give to those around you. This could mean giving your time, your effort, your support, your ear, or even your story.

By simply being yourself and helping your teammates, instead of relying on them to help you, you will not only build incredible football confidence and football mental toughness, but also an amazing personal brand that others will want to follow.

At the end of the day, your football confidence will get you ahead, but those self-defeating behaviors will only hold you back. Recognizing the difference and acting accordingly is what separates the best and the brightest from the rest.

To build your confidence you must change the way you think.

A 100% of the time it is 90% mental.

Confidence is a mind-set skill that doesn’t just happen by chance. You must work at it.

To build your confidence, specific strategies are required. These strategies can be found in my workbook – An Athlete’s Guide To Peak Performance Series– Building Confidence

Go to www.sportspsychologyfootball.com. Click products and get started on Building Your
Confidence with Sports Performance Top Mental Game Coach.