Photo by Chad Cooper.
Today is the beginning of March Madness (aka the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament). Each year, 64 outstanding college teams from all over compete to be the #1 team in the country. And offices everywhere focus on brackets as well as business.
Over the next three weeks, you’ll see everything from dazzling play to lackluster performance. Why such varied execution from a lineup of really great teams? Very often success on the court comes down to confidence as much as talent. You’ll recognize that confidence (or lack of confidence) when you see it.
So today, let’s focus on the power of confidence and the cost of negative self-talk.
In Dr. Jonathan Fader’s book Life as Sport: What Top Athletes Can Teach You About How to Win in Life, he asks elite performers: “Who is the most important person(s) you speak with during a typical day?” Most people say their spouses, parents, children, coach, agent, etc. After a little bit of this, Fader tells them to think again. He tells them: “You are the most important person you speak to. … Your self-talk informs how you feel about yourself and thus affects your performance.”
It’s often said that character is defined as the summary of your thoughts. I believe the same can be said of confidence. It, too, is the summary of your thoughts.
Think about it. Many of us have seen a talented player who had an easy layup (with no one guarding him) for a winning shot who chose instead to pass the ball to someone else. I guarantee you it was because he was afraid of missing that shot. As he thought about shooting, he also thought about the possibility of failure. “What if I miss? I’ll let everyone down …” The pressure got to him, so the easiest thing to do was pass the ball to another player.
When he did that, he also, of course, passed on an opportunity for success.
Now consider the sport’s top players—people like Steph Curry or LeBron James who have the advantage of incredible confidence as well as tremendous talent. They see an opportunity, and they take it. And if there’s no opportunity, they make one. They want to take the last shot—they want the opportunity to win the game.
So opportunity is not enough. Talent is not enough. To be successful you have to have the confidence to follow through and take advantage of that opportunity and your talents.
When faced with a difficult challenge, we usually subconsciously call on what Dr. Bhrett McCabe, a sports psychologist, calls our “past achievements (in our) bank of positive self-images.”
Confidence is knowing who you are and what you can do. It’s realizing you are good enough. Now that you know this, use it. The next time you go into a conference room to give a big presentation, think of it not as a “conference” room but as your own “confidence” room. Believe that, be prepared and rely upon your God-given talents, and you’ll nail it!
Do you honestly believe you can achieve the challenges you’re facing? If you believe you can, your confidence will carry you far.
Have confidence in yourself, and you’ll do what you do better.
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