“Sometimes you’ve got to find a way. Today was one of those days. The biggest thing is how you respond. I just had to self-talk myself. It’s all about making a play.”
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade

There are many components of basketball mental toughness and distractions of focus for an athlete to withstand on the basketball court. Pressure from fans, coaches, parents, teammates and media all weaken a player’s mental focus on their game. However the most detrimental basketball confidence destroyer occurs from within a player’s thought process, and not from any external source.

Your inner voice and thoughts play the central role in developing confidence on the court. A player with a solid basketball mind maintains a consistently positive self-talk which develops mental toughness in their performance.

Every single person on the planet has some form of self-talk, and it is either decidedly encouraging or debilitating negative. There is no neutral ground. Initially it is important for improving overall basketball confidence to first analyze how you talk to yourself. Do any of the following questions sound familiar?

• Can you ever get it right?
• You’re so dumb.
• You’re so clumsy.
• That was lame.

You get the picture. Do you offer the same encouraging words to yourself or the same amount of patience that you would to a fellow teammate? Oftentimes an athlete criticizes themselves with such a harsh tone that they would never extend to another person.

The mentally tough player understands the need to keep self-talk positive and encouraging, not critical which leads to limits in physical performance. True basketball confidence starts within your thoughts. No amount praise and support from coaches and teammates can overcome a negative self-talk and judgmental outlook of a player.

If an athlete struggles with mental focus, it is important to improve their inner voice toward one of calm encouragement. The following are positive affirmations of self talk.

• You can do it.
• Keep trying.
• You’ve got this.
• Bring it.

Your self-talk is your central core of basketball confidence. It is almost impossible to build your mental toughness and focus with external encouragement if your inner voice is screaming criticism. If your self- talk is negative, then it is imperative to consciously choose positive statements to reframe your thoughts to a more positive mental focus.

Anytime you feel the negativity overcoming your ideas, then you must choose a positive affirmation to repeat in your mind, and replace any damaging self talk. The process is deliberate, and does not seem easy at first, especially for any athlete accustomed and comfortable with constant self criticism.

We’ve all heard the statement, “They are their own worst critic.” Improvement comes from analysis and a desire to get better, but harsh criticism only lessens physical performance.

Negative self-talk is very different than constructive criticism. A negative inner voice attacks viciously and personally.

Positive criticism with encouragement provides the process for improvement laced with enough encouragement for the journey. The physical performance reached with a positive self talk is well worth the effort to eliminate any negative inner voice or focus.