What Erodes Confidence (Free Preview)

We want to understand confidence better since it’s a big part of being mentally tough. Without confidence, you don’t play to your potential; you’re less gritty, less resilient, and don’t work as hard.  If you want to build your confidence, you need to understand what it is, what builds it, and what erodes it. When you’re aware of what erodes confidence, you can notice those feelings and adjust.

Doubt and Fear

If we don’t have confidence, what do we have? Doubt, worry, and fear.

To simplify doubt and fear, it’s if things don’t go according to plan, and you’re not sure you can adjust and get the outcome you want.

Doubt and fear are natural. We are wired to have those feelings as a form of self-protection. Our minds scan our world for physical and emotional dangers, looking to protect us. That’s great in the wilderness, and you’re alerted to a threat like a wild animal. It’s not beneficial, though, on the ice when you’re trying to play well. So, we need strategies to override those fears and doubts.

Protecting Confidence from Erosion

Confidence is not the absence of fears and doubts; it’s about becoming aware and adjusting. Part of mental toughness training is protecting yourself from erosion of confidence.

Doubt and fear are natural, and we need to find ways to overcome them. You can do that by building better and stronger habits to protect from doubt and fear. The skills we’ve covered, like past success, preparation, and imagery are habits that can help keep your confidence strong.

Another tool to prevent erosion is taken from military principles: overlearning a skill. By training a skill in the morning, evening, and under every circumstance, it becomes muscle memory and its automatic. When you overlearn, you’re in a position to know that under any circumstances, you can execute this skill, and that gives confidence.