Racing is a game of confidence. You must have tons of it according to racing super starts James Stewart and Dan Wheldon, two racers I have talked with personally about confidence and the mental game of racing.
Do you set expectations about where you should finish the race based on lap times and who you are racing against? One of the huge mistakes I see racers committing is what I call *placing themselves on the start line.* This means that you mentally have a finish position you think you *should* achieve.
This only works well if you think you should finish First in the moto or race. However, many racers place themselves in third, fourth, fifth and beyond depending on lap times in practice and other factors such as the reputation of other racers.
You are as fast as you think you are, and if you limit yourself with practice lap times, you will finish where you think you *should* finish in the race.
So how do you harness confidence and make it stick lap after lap? Racers get confidence from many sources: past experience, training, equipment, believing in their ability, and quality coaching.
I talked with Indy 500 Champ Dan Wheldon on the importance of confidence for successful racing. He said that self-belief and confidence are the two keys to winning races and championships.
The main idea is that you need to harness the power of confidence to race at the limit and make confident decisions. Some racers just ooze confidence while other racers have to work at harnessing the power of confidence.
How well would you perform if you had a full tank of confidence every race you strapped in the car or jumped on the bike?
----------------------------------
Want to learn simple, proven mental toughness skills that you can apply to competition? Grab my free online mental training newsletter, Sports Insights Magazine - for athletes, coaches, and sports parents:
http://www.peaksports.com/free_newsletter.php
Tennis Confidence: How to Ride the Momentum Wave
Confidence and momentum in tennis are close cousins. When you have momentum, you have confidence squared. Yes, momentum is a huge psychological advantage in any sport especially tennis. Players feel a sense of exhilaration when they have momentum on their side – it’s a huge boost to your mental game of tennis.
Tennis Mind Game: Tennis Confidence Checklist for Big Matches
What does it truly mean to believe in yourself? When you believe in yourself, you have full confidence in your physical skills and ability to execute shots in tennis. My definition of self-confidence for tennis is how strongly you believe in your ability to execute a successful shot or win a match. Don’t confuse believe in yourself (self-confidence) with self-esteem. Self-esteem is all about how you view yourself and how you appraise your self-concept (how you see yourself), also called self-worth.
Tennis Psychology: Practice Confidence vs. Match Confidence
Do you play tennis with a ton of confidence in practice, but have trouble taking your practice game to matches? If so, you are not alone. Many of my players are more comfortable in their practice routines than in matches. They lose trust in their strokes that worked well in practice.
