“Being afraid on the court means you’re not confident of your skills” – Michael Jordan

Thought and belief is the key to basketball success.

Everything you perceive in the physical world has its origin in the invisible, inner world of your thoughts and beliefs.

To improve your basketball mental game, you must learn to control the nature of your dominant, habitual thoughts. By doing so, you will be able to attract into your game and life that which you intend to have and experience as you come to know the truth that your thoughts create your reality on and off the court.

Research on sports psychology for basketball shows that negative thoughts and destructive beliefs in your head can significantly hinder your ability to perform in the court. This is one of the major mental blocks to build your self-confidence.

Managing your thoughts is very much a question of choice and actually like developing a mental skill. It is a way of doing something better, and as athletes we struggle with change.

Before you can become the master your mind, you must recognize that you are currently at the mercy of several unwanted “squatters” living in your mind, and they are in charge of your thoughts. If you want to be the boss of them, you must know who they are and what their motivation is, and then you can take charge and evict them.

Creating a positive environment is the first thing you should do while trying to control your thoughts. Most of us are so focused on what’s wrong with us, the world, and our lives that we don’t spend nearly as much time in appreciation.

Creating a positive environment not only improves your quality of life, but it can be contagious to people around you too.

Try to make a list of your wins in life, things you’ve accomplished that you’re proud of. How did you manage to beat these obstacles? Make yourself remember what you did. If possible, recall a specific instance when you had self-doubts, but you overcame them anyway. It will help you to develop your basketball mental toughness.

As you begin to reflect each day on your accomplishments you will realize the many things you have succeeded in. That will allow you to carry over those successful thoughts and memories into building your confidence.

Write as if you were writing to a friend whose spirit needs to be lifted up. Letter writing is a powerful way to get rid of all those insecurities you have. By the time you’re done writing yourself a positive letter, you’ll be more confident and feeling so much better about yourself.

Save the letters you write to yourself. Keep them in a folder and read them every so often, especially when you feel those self-doubts creeping up.

Self-Confidence isn’t something you develop once then drop. It’s a lifetime practice, and it is possible to keep improving. Even when you feel like you’ve mastered these steps, remember to keep practicing, and you’ll reap the benefits of self-confidence for the rest of your life on and off the court

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