Confidence is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, having firm trust, or the state of feeling certain about the truth of something. In theory, we all know that confidence is the key to success, but it is much trickier to achieve in practice. While believing in ourselves is something we all strive for, belief alone doesn’t lead to feeling confident. 

There are three components to cultivating confidence: belief in ourselves, excellent work ethic, and the ability to produce results. All three of these must be present simultaneously for us to truly feel confident in our ability to achieve our goals. When it comes to health, sometimes it can take a long time to see any results, nevermind fully achieve the goal, and this can make it very challenging to keep going. 

Belief in ourselves is the first component we must master. This can be challenging enough on its own, since facing failure can be scary. It’s easier to tell ourselves that whatever we’re trying to achieve isn’t possible for us, that way we don’t have to worry about it not working out. 

We must recognize that failure doesn’t mean our goals are impossible and that a momentary setback doesn’t define who we are as a person. Failing along the way to achieving our goals is how we learn what we need to change or do better to eventually achieve them. 

Once we can accept that failure is inevitable, we can begin to believe in ourselves. 

Belief in ourselves can be synonymous with our words. While this is a very important foundational component of confidence, what we say doesn’t really matter unless our actions back it up. This is where our work ethic comes into play. Excellent work ethic is mandatory in order to cultivate confidence. 

If we believe our goals are possible for us but still don’t feel confident, it’s time to check in on the actions we are taking. If you put in the necessary effort to achieve your goals each and every day through the actions you take, you’re well on your way to confidence. 

The third component to confidence is actually producing results. If you’ve ever participated in a sport, you know that it can take a long time of practicing a new skill or strategy before you see success in the game. Imagine you tried a new skill at practice and were successful. The next day, you tried it in the game and failed. 

We know the key to being able to perform the skill in the game is more practice. If you gave up after one attempt, you’d never see the result you’re looking for, and you’d never feel confident in yourself. In order to translate our belief and actions into results, we must put in repetitions, or practice. It is only through more practice that we will begin to see results. 

Once we have a strong belief in ourselves, put in the work every day, and start to see results, our confidence begins to grow. If we are missing any of these components, we must take time to recognize what is missing, put our heads down, and get back to work. If you expect to feel confident before believing in yourself, taking action, or seeing results, you will never achieve what it is you’ve set out to do. 

Remember that any goal you have is possible for you if you understand that feeling confident around it only comes after we pair belief with action and practice.

Xoxo

Coach Maggi