“unshakeable self-belief”

Confidence is often spoken about as though it is an innate trait, or as if you have it or do not. However, confidence ebbs and flows in different situations or environments. In mental toughness, confidence is considered that “unshakeable self-belief” or sometimes “inner arrogance”. But again, this can be developed, and sometimes will not feel as unshakable as other days. The key is to have the skills to be able to improve that confidence on the days that it is lower than others.

Four big components to confidence development are validation, perspiration, inspiration, and regulation, with the understanding of how these components can impact the athlete. Validation considers how others, such as teammates, coaches, or parents provide positive reinforcement in an athletes performance. Perspiration considers the physical training that an athlete puts in to gain tactical and conditional skills. Inspiration is what it sounds like and is who or what the athlete draws inspiration from. This inspiration could be from another person, such as a professional athlete, or previous performances. And regulation is the athletes ability to maintain comfortable arousal levels.

Confidence is ma emotional response to injury, and as such be approached through emotional interventions. The resources in this section address how athletes are feeling about themselves, the rehab process and their injury. Using the resources when an individual is showing low levels of confidence is important, as well as when they are showing positive confidence as it is important to maintain.