Confidence

Amazing and empowering lessons are emerging from coronavirus. First and foremost, our

planet is thriving. If you haven’t yet, do an internet search on the environmental impact of this

quarantine. Skylines usually accompanied by dense smog now glowing with clear blue sky and

stars visible for the first time in recent memory. Dirty rivers now crystal clear. Earth is getting

some much needed recovery.

Second, we are once again learning that health matters. Numbers continue to show those with

underlying conditions suffer greatly compared to those who are healthy. Those with strong

immune systems tend to be just fine. Sunlight exposure kills the virus in less than a minute.

Powerful stuff.

Finally, people continue to show that the human condition is far more resilient than it gets

credit for. For a quick couple days in late March, the overwhelming sentiment through the lens

of social media was this: “You expect us to do WHAT?” Yet, here we are. To that, I’m reminded

of arguably my favorite Stoic quote: “We suffer more in imagination than reality.” I think about

this notion often. While COVID-19 presents us with some tough challenges, most of them are

minor inconveniences rather than major problems (for those of us stuck at home). Collectively,

we’ve done an exceptional job at understanding that. Within that perception has come a great

deal of confidence in our ability to endure this quarantine. This experience has given us

confidence in our ability to adapt. Which segues beautifully into the question, “Where does

confidence come from?”

Confidence

The Question:

The world of academia often debates what confidence is, what it looks like, and how to develop

it. Myself included, we can easily get caught going down the rabbit hole of terminology –

which, let’s be honest, just leads to even more rabbit holes and differentiating opinions. I think

we can simplify the process with one single question: “Can it be done?” If we can answer this

question with a “Yes”, we’ve established the ground floor for confidence. We can build from

there. Can I get on base here? Yes? Well alright, let’s figure out a way to make it happen. Of

course, that’s not the end of the story. There’s a lot of teams that end the season 10-36 that

could answer that question with “Yes” at the beginning of the season. So where do we go from

here? Well, we have a baseline foundation for confidence, which is a start. How do we build

on that? The key word is “build”. Confidence is built. Whether that be genetically or through

experience, confidence is built.

So many of us get bogged down by past experiences when it matters most. Why? Because we

ultimately fall to the level of what we have built. If we have put in the work, laid the

foundation, and simply understand that it can be done (whatever “it” is), then by golly, we’ve

got a chance!

When we’re confident, we believe in ourselves. This makes a ton of sense from a mental

standpoint. However, it actually makes a huge difference from a physical standpoint too. If we

have belief, our body is releasing the right chemicals we need to promote focus, energy, agility,

and even motor skills. Put simply, belief actually unlocks physical ability. A lack of belief will

thwart physical ability. Which is a huge bummer that we’d actually waste our ability because of

our negative beliefs about something that hasn’t even happened yet. Our body’s negativity

bias, which helps keep us “safe”, aims to keep bad things from happening before they even

happen. However, it isn’t great for building a confident performer. Confidence is one of the

factors that quiets down our negativity bias. So ask yourself, “Can it be done?” If it can, then

we’re on to something. Let’s build the path.

OK, if it can be done then let’s move on to the next question… How can it be done? Asking this

question is powerful for multiple reasons. First, it allows us to visualize success. Second, it

allows us to create a step-by-step path to success. Third, it suggests we examine what our

strengths are and how we can use them to our advantage. Finally, it allows us to identify

barriers that might get in the way, and what we can do to eliminate or work around them.

By creating a legitimate path for success, envisioning what that will look like, identifying our

strengths, and creating a process to defeat barriers, we’ve created a sense of certainty about

our goal. We can say, “Yes it can be done, and here is how!” One of our main triggers for the

negativity bias is uncertainty. By creating a vision for our success, we don’t have to worry

about obstacles getting in the way; we’ve already planned for them!

The Hard Part.

One of my favorite quotes I came across recently came from Mike Tyson: “Everybody has a plan

until they get hit.” By this point you all may have heard that success usually isn’t a straight line.

You can plan all night and day, but reality rarely goes according to plan. Having a plan helps.

Having a plan creates confidence by creating the vision of a positive, poised future. However,

confidence will be identified most when things don’t go according to plan. Everyone is

confident when things are easy and when things are going according to plan. That confidence

may get very fragile as soon we go off script (especially if we are doing it for the wrong

reasons).

So far we’ve developed a foundation for developing confidence by asking “Can it be done?” and

“How will it be done?” So what’s the next magical question? Look to your Why. Ask yourself,

“Why am I doing it?” Remembering your Why, or your purpose, brings a sense of freedom in a

couple of different ways. First, it can give you the guts to dig deep. Whether it be your faith,

your pursuit of growth, your passion for the game, your moral compass – we can lean on our

Why to keep us moving forward. Perhaps more importantly, remembering our Why allows us

to zoom out and look at the big picture. Which is that one game, one at-bat, one pitch, or one

moment won’t define us. This can relieve some of the negative pressure that clouds or clutters

our mind. We realize that this game isn’t a huge deal. In fact, usually it won’t matter it all

whether we win or lose. That simple statement diffuses nerves, anxiety, and pressure of any

importance. If we can understand that, then we can have all the confidence in the world to

play big in the “big” moments.

How quickly we can get ourselves back into this frame of mind after taking a “punch” will

determine how far off path we get. If we get too far off path, it may be hard to find our way

back. Thus, when things get hard we must remember Why. Our ability to endure failures,

adversity, plateaus in progress, and various challenges will make us mentally stronger. With

mental strength, confidence grows. Each rep creating another reason to be confident. Refine

and repeat for continual personal development.

The Bottom Line.

While many, many factors go into what makes someone confident or not, the need for a

simplified recipe becomes that much more valuable. By no means is this article a

comprehensive manuscript on the science of confidence. However, it does take scientific

factors from human biology, physiology, and psychology and hopefully create a digestable and

practical understanding of how to build confidence. Just to recap, confidence comes from

asking the right questions:

1. Can it be done? If so, build from there. Belief is the beginning.

2. How can it be done? Create a path, identify strengths, navigate barriers.

3. Why am I do it? Lean on your purpose. Enduring challenges demands growth.

4. Refine and Repeat. Repetition = experience. Experience = confidence.

While confidence may waver moment to moment, the seeds of confidence are always at our

disposal. Just make sure they get water and sunlight daily; you’ll be alright.

- Austin Hanson 

- MindStrong's Mental Performance Coach