Life is full of adversity and challenges making it difficult to maintain confidence. However, with consistent practice, confidence is a skill that you can own regardless of circumstance or what is being thrown at you.
There are many ways to work at building and maintaining your confidence as referenced in “The Confident Athlete. However, the one I want to discuss today is thankfulness.
While we all are aware of how gratitude makes us happier, many do not realize how it benefits our confidence. A 2014 study reported in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, discovered that athletes who openly expressed more gratitude toward their coaches were more confident than those who weren’t as openly thankful. In addition, when you take the time to list what you are thankful about, you naturally feel better about yourself, you are more positive, and you are better equipped to handle adversity. All of these contribute to confidence building.
Start making this a habit. Today be thankful for everything that happens to you. Take some time wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, to come up with a gratitude list. Keep this list in view (on the refrigerator, mirror, etc.) where it can serve as a visual reminder. There is so much to be thankful for, we just have to choose to see it. Often, we are so focused on what isn’t happening that we lose sight of the good.
If you want to experience lasting confidence in your life, you need to change your focus. Specifically, you need to change your thoughts from focusing on what you don’t have, to want you do have. From what isn’t going well, to what is going well. Whatever you focus on is what you move toward.
For more help in building your confidence, buy “The Confident Athlete: 4 Easy Steps to Build and Maintain Confidence” today online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble or follow us on twitter @tamimatheny.