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How do I
raise my confidence level? Can an athlete ever be too confident?
Cockiness is different than confidence. Arrogance and cockiness are
social behaviors that involve bragging about the fact you are better
than everyone else. Confidence is more internal and includes your
thoughts and feelings about yourself and your abilities. It has more
to do with believing what you can do rather than constantly
comparing yourself to everyone else. Confidence can be increased by
reflecting on your past accomplishments, situations where you
succeeded. Then picture yourself succeeding in the current
situation. Don't focus so much on beating the other person as
executing your skill or drill successfully. Rehearse this over and
over in your mind. Likewise, you can apply this after you have made
a mistake in competition. It is proper to analyze and reflect on
your mistake, make your mental corrections. But don't evaluate or
judge yourself. Finish your reflection by seeing yourself do it
proper on the next play. If you view confidence this way you can't
have too much of it. It will not cause you to overlook an important
game or be cocky. Confidence is all about you, not the other person. |
