20 TIPS20 TIPSTO BOOST YOURCONFIDENCEBoost Your Confidence so that you can play with poise, enter the FLOW stateand Achieve Consistent Elite Performance!

Sport & Performance Psychology ConsultantConsistent Elite Performance

CONSISTENT ELITE PERFORMANCE

HERE ARE

2020PROVEN

TIPS AND

EXERCISESThat will help boost your confidenceso that you can get back to playing withpoise, enter the flow state, and achieveConsistent Elite Performance!

Focus on an Accurate Self Image, NOT having super high confidence1.

One of the biggest misconceptions about confidence is that we want it to be super high – to think you are the best athlete inthe world – but obviously that doesn’t make sense for most. Instead, you want to have an accurate self- image where you own both what you do well and what you can work on.

Manage Your Expectations2.

Expectations like “I should do _____” can really throw off your confidence. The word “SHOULD” means there is no room forerror. It means you expect that you SHOULD be perfect. But, you are human and things won’t always go the way you wantthem to go. So instead, you want to have realistic expectations that are not about perfection – I suggest you use wording like:“I could _____” or “ I can do _____.”

Let Go of Expectations3.

I bring up expectations because once you manage them and have a healthy perspective, then you can free yourself from thoseexpectations. While you are playing or performing you don’t want to be thinking of any expectations, instead you want to befully focused on the PROCESS (more on this on tips #15, #16, & #17). The best way to let go of your expectations so that youcan focus on the process is to ACCEPT that your performance might go the way you want it to or it might not because yourhuman and not perfect – which is way easier to do if you managed your expectations first!

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Stop Worrying About What Others Think4.

This is such a big one, but also a hard one. The key is that you can care about what others think but you don’t have to be worried about it because YOUR opinion matters most. It’s your life and your athletic career – so you decide which kind ofplayer you want to be and your opinion of how you played is the bottom line. Now, it’s important to respect others and youprobably want to take in feedback and suggestions from coaches but you still make the final decisions. Truly learning to valueyour own opinion of yourself above what others think will free you up to play with great confidence! (The next 3 next tips willaddress important people in an athlete’s life whose opinions often cause worry)

Work with Your Coach5.

Your coaches can have an influence over your mindset and confidence if you let them. This is so important because coachesget upset, they might not always be nice, they might yell, or it might seem like they don’t like you. The truth is they are humanand are trying to do their best – they most likely don’t wake up and think, “I hate ____ and want to make their day terrible!” Yourcoach does determine your playing time and you are going to want their approval and praise, BUT you don’t have to worry aboutit, because at the end of the day – you can’t always please your coach. Your job is to do your best and self-assess. Yourassessment matters most. Sometimes you will need to filter out what coaches say because they might be too easy or too hardon you.

Filter Your Parents, Friends and Family6.

Many players get worried about the opinions of their parents, friends, and family. Especially when a parent really cares and theyshare their opinions with you – this is often the dad that really wants to help and coach. They mean well, but your job is againto learn how to filter it out and instead, make sure you are having your own opinions (more on this in the self-reflection tip #8).

Don’t Worry about Scouts7.

This can be a tough one, but it is doable. One way to do so is to rememberscouts are going to see you make mistakes, but they are also going to seeeveryone else make mistakes. So it’s important to accept that you arenot going to be perfect in front of scouts because you are human, just likeeveryone else. Second, you can’t please all the scouts – each one is goingto have their own preferences. Instead, focus on doing your best and againremember your opinion of how you played matters most. If you keep doingthe right things then you will get noticed.

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Accurately Self-Reflect and Own What you Do Well8.

If you want to have an accurate self-image (tip #1) then you have to accurately self-reflect. Most athletes are too hard onthemselves which can create a negatively skewed self-image. I don’t suggest you be too easy on yourself. What you want isto accurately self-reflect. What did you do well? And what could you do differently? Make sure to give lots of details. Especiallyowning what you did well, because you probably skim over that and focus mostly on what you can work on. But that’s notaccurate and not great for your mindset or confidence! If you are a younger athlete, make sure you lead the self-reflectionprocess (the conversation) in the car ride home, NOT your mom or dad. Remember your opinion matters most, so make sureyou have one. If you aren’t sure, guess, don’t deflect and be dependent on what your parents think.

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Take Responsibility within Your Situation9 .

Don’t blame, complain and make excuses about your situation. Blaming teammates,refs, coaches etc. will throw off your mindset and confidence level. Instead, youwant to learn how to make the most out of your situation by taking responsibilityfor the things you can control and your attitude. Think of it this way – I don’texpect you to be all super happy and be like “I love this..” when things aren’tgoing well, but you can have a good attitude that makes the most out of it!Doing so helps you keep playing with confidence!

Know Your Optimal Arousal Level10.

Playing with confidence is all about being in the optimal state of relaxedyet focused. Not being too aroused where your focus narrows, mindraces, and body tenses up, but also not being too relaxed where youaren’t fully engaged. 10 is max arousal and 1 is asleep – your optimalarousal is likely between 6 and 8. Identify what yours is and then focus on getting to that level and staying at that level consis-tently (the next 2 tips will help with this). An easy hack is asking yourself this question daily – what was my arousal level today?

Manage Your Emotions (Stay Cool, Calm and Confident!)11.

Nothing throws off your confidence like losing your cool and your arousal level getting too high. In our programs we use areset routine with our athletes to help them stay confident, focused, and poised. So if you lose your cool and get frustrated,then accept the situation, take a deep breath, and get back to your optimal arousal level! The key to managing emotions is notabout what you do, but how you FEEL. When your emotions are getting the best of you, then something probably feelsUNACCEPTABLE, hence, the answer is to actually be willing to accept it and let it go. This can be much easier said than done,but it is doable. The reset routine and this concept are foundational parts of all our programs. So if you want some help withthis one, then reach out and we will set you up with a program that is the right fit for you.

Stop Worrying About Mistakes12.

When you worry about making mistakes, you are likely NOT playing with confidence. Instead, you are probably playing timidand safe. You might start freezing up and overthinking (see the next tip) or you tense up, panic, and rush. Most people will tellyou don’t worry about making mistakes and just go play. But how do you just forget and not think about it? We can’t justremove thoughts and feelings from our brain. Instead, what we can do is turn to them, understand them, and embrace them.This is again what the reset routine is all about. It’s a feeling – ACCEPTANCE. I wish I could tell you that you won’t make anymistakes and everything will work out. But I can’t because you are human, just like the best athletes in the world. So you can’ttell yourself that either. What you can do is manage your expectations and accept the possibilities (review tips #2 and #3).

Stop Overthinking13.

When you overthink, then you are not playing at your best. You are not present and in the moment. This can be in partbecause you are worried about mistakes (see tip #12) and/or because you are doubting yourself and the decisions you have to make. For self-doubt remember to have an accurate self-image (tip #1 and #8). But for the actual overthinking aboutdecisions, the best advice is to focus on just being aware and present – in a way – I don’t want you to make decisions. Instead,all you are doing is reading the play and situations (being aware) then taking action based on the situation. You will still makesome mistakes because you are human. But just learn from those. You can also think of it this way – the other team is makingthe decisions for you and you are just taking what is given to you. There is room for creativity in these moments, but I’ll leavethat discussion for another day. For now, just focus on staying aware and present – no need to worry about decisions as thiscauses overthinking.

Learn & Get Inspired from Others14.

You are going to compare yourself to others to some extent. This canbe problematic if it’s all outcome focused – who is better, who hasmore points, and who is getting more playing time? This can lead tofeelings of envy, jealousy, or you can even feel threatened by otherssuccess. All of this can be really problematic to your mindset, confi-dence level, and performance! Instead, what you want to do is learn from others and get inspired by their successes. Think if they can doit then so can you. Look for the details in their game and their perfor-mances that you can learn from and work on yourself! This shift in mindset is crucial to staying confident and performing at your best.

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Identify your Process versus Outcomes (Literally write these out!!)15.

One of the biggest mental skills is to be process focused. But most athletes naturally become high outcome focused. Thereis nothing inherently wrong with wanting outcomes and focusing on them, BUT it can lead to major distractions. This is alsolinked to the common “yo-yo” confidence. You get the outcomes you want, confidence goes up. You don’t get the outcomesyou want, confidence goes down. But obviously you don’t get better or worse at your sport from one day to the next. Instead,we want to maintain an accurate self-image and stay process focused. This is much easier to do if you write out anddistinguish what the process is for you versus the outcomes. Process is what you have full control over (e.g., protect the puck,look for teammates, back check hard). Outcomes are the results of the process (e.g., points, making plays, mistakes, playingtime, winning). Write both sides out so that you can ramble off the key process areas of your game!

Identify Your Strengths & Greatest Opportunities for Improvement 18.

You need to know what your greatest strengths are – this is the foundation of who you are as an athlete. You want to own thesestrengths and maintain them. And on the flip side, you also need to be honest with yourself and identify what areas give you themost opportunities for improvement. There are tons of things you can work on but it’s important to be able to prioritize. It can

Be 90% Process Focused16.

Now that you have clearly identified what the process is for you (tip #15), you want to asyourself reflect what percentage you are focused on process vs outcome. Many players

are 50/50, but I want you to be at least 90% process focused. You could be 100% pro-

Track Process KPIs17.

It can be easier said than done to be process focused. You want those outcomes so bad and you endup looking at them, checking them, thinking about them, and talking about them. So to further help you

be more process focused we use something called KPIs, which means Key Performance Indicator. Theidea is that instead of focusing on tracking the usual outcome stats, you want to identify and track stats

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cess focused, and if so, you probably will play great. But that is generally hard to do.Outcomes are likely to come into your mind. That’s okay. The point here is how long do

you stay focused on them. Let go of the outcomes and get back to the process! Here is agreat question you can ask yourself daily – what % was I process focused today?

that are more closely linked to your process and will be more indicative of how you played. This is important because some-times you might play well but not get the outcomes you want, or vice versa, you don’t play well but get a lucky outcome. Sothese KPIs help you maintain an accurate self-image and therefore stay confident! Some hockey examples – many of theforwards we work with will track how many chances they created (for themselves or others) and how many offensive zonetouches of the puck they had – this then gives them a percentage number. The goal is not to be perfect. Instead, the purpose isto use this more as a feedback mechanism and to help you stay focused on stats that will help you stay more process focused.In this example, this stat is way healthier for a players mindset and confidence then focusing on goals, assists, and points.

PUT IN THE WORK19 .

This tip is CRUCIAL. It doesn’t matter if you work on your mindset and mental skills and do all the other tips, if you are notputting in the work then you are not going to get the results. You want to be more confident in a skill, then PRACTICE,PRACTICE, and PRACTICE that skill! The other tips are more about making sure you have the right mindset and have anaccurate self-image, which helps you to be confident and play at your potential. Working on your mental game is only part ofthe equation, you have to also roll up your sleeves and put in the work. The beautiful thing about putting in the work is thatyou then earn the right to be confident. If you are the hardest worker and have done all this extra training then that will naturallymake you more confident – especially if applied with the other tips! Make sure to apply this tip with tip #18.

Be a Leader!20.

Now that you have taken in the first 19 tips, this last tip takes being a confident athlete to another level – being a leader. Whenyou are truly a confident athlete you are owning who you are and where you are, taking responsibility, managing your emotions,and focusing on the process – you will automatically start becoming a better leader. But there is more to being a leader thanjust being confident in yourself, you also have to be confident in how you interact with your teammates. You can’t be worriedabout what they think, you can care, but your priority is doing what is best for the team. This means you speak up at times andyou encourage your teammates when things aren’t going well (especially if it is silent and awkward). Anyone can be a goodteammate and leader when things are going well, but being a leader when your team is facing adversity – that’s true confidence,that’s a true leader. There is a lot of little nuances to being a leader so if you want to learn more about this, reach out, as we haveprograms specific for improving leadership abilities.

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be hard to look at yourself in the mirror and honestly say what you can work on – but confidence comes from being truthfulwith yourself. You start lying to yourself and down playing things, you won’t be fooling anyone and especially not yourself –deep down you will know the truth doubt will creep in. So once you are honest and own what you can work on, then you canget to work!

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NEXT STEPSNEXT STEPS0 1 APPLY AND REVIEW DAILY

Apply these tips and review them consistently! Ifyou have found these tips helpful, don’t waste it byletting these tips slip out of mind and not taking thetime to fully incorporate them into your mindset.

02 FOLLOW USFollow us on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter for newtips and the latest content! These reminders andnew tips will help you ingrain these conceptsfurther.

03 SPREAD THE WORDShare these tips and encourage others to get their owncopy – the more teammates and friends that are on the samewavelength as you will help you and them!

04 REACH OUT TO BOOK A FREE 30 MIN COACHING SESSION Give us a call at (416) 735-1003 or send us an email at Cassidy@consistentElitePerformance.comand we will book you in for a free 30 minute assessment with one of our coaches. They will help younarrow down what specific mental skills and strategies will benefit you the most, and will recommendwhat program would be the best fit for you. This is a limited time offer and based on availability, soreach out now to book your FREE 30 MINUTE COACHING SESSION!

I hope these tips help you boost your confidence! We would love the opportunity to help you further play withconfidence, focus, and poise this season so that you can enter the flow state, have more fun, and achieveConsistent Elite Performance!

D R . C A S S I D Y P R E S T O NSport & Performance Psychology Consultant

www.ConsistentElitePerformance.com l (416) 735-1003