“Confidence is what happens when you’ve done the hard work that entitles you to succeed” – Pat Summitt
Professional athletes are rigorously trained to handle whatever comes at them in the athletic arena.
They are built to be faster, stronger and more agile. But all too often inadequate mental game preparation leads to lapses on and off the court.
How well are the top basketball players trained to handle the mental part of the game?
The fame, the cars, and the money – it’s incredibly easy to get caught up in the spotlight, especially during recruitment or for pros trying to settle into their new lifestyle during their rookie year.
For real success, basketball mental toughness and mental preparation is just as important as the “things”, accolades and physical ability.
A poor mental outlook can destroy a career as quickly as a blown kneecap. There are a number of factors that can contribute to poor athletic performance.
Research on sport psychology for basketball shows that confidence is the key differentiating psychological factor between successful and unsuccessful performance in a variety of sports settings.
According to sports psychologists, confidence is best considered a belief an athlete has about his/her ability to perform a specific task successfully in order to obtain a certain result. It is dynamic, unstable and susceptible to change based on a range of factors.
This is why it can often leave athletes feeling like they have no control over their confidence and they seem more ready to assume that the peaks and valleys they experience during competition are inevitable.
The fact is that self- confidence really can be learned and built on. It requires constant work and maintenance to keep self-confidence high. You have to continuously assess yourself and make adjustments alone the way.
It’s important to arm yourself with tools that you need to build confidence and create your own success.
Start focusing on positive reinforcement instead of negative and always be open to new challenges. Each time you face a new challenges, you’ll grow stronger, and your confidence will increase by leaps and bounds.
Self-confidence can help you to succeed and reach your goals –both professionally and personally, in a very real way.
Not only will you finally have the fearlessness to go for your goals and the drive to believe you can reach them, you’ll also come across as someone who knows what he or she is doing, inspiring other people’s belief in you as well.
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 sportspsychologybasketball.com. Click products and get started on Building Your Confidence with Sports Performance Top Mental Game Coach.
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