The 3 Keys to Confidence
If you’re looking for strategies to get started with RIGHT NOW, skip to the bottom where I’ve placed quick links.
If you want to go more in depth… let’s get started.
There Are Three Types of Training
Mechanical
Strategic
High Performance Training
Mechanical training is how you hit, how you field, how you shoot, how you throw. Strategic training is your plan and approach. This is what you’re doing with the ball when it is in your hands. This is what you’re doing when the ball is in play. High Performance training is doing your best when it means the most. High Performance training on the field basically comes down to one thing: Playing with confidence. Are you confident in your abilities? Are you confident in the thought that you can get the job done? Bottom line: Do you know you can perform when the lights come on?
What is the ultimate confidence? There’s a great story about Pete Rose when he was 14 hits away from breaking Ty Cobb’s all-time hits record. Several games before he actually did it, Pete Rose was standing around the batting cage getting warm before the game. A reporter came up and asked him, “Pete, you’re 14 hits away from breaking the all-time record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to break it?”
Pete Rose looked at him and said, “14.”
That is the ultimate confidence. Pete Rose, on paper, was a 300 hitter. In his head though, he was batting 1000.
I heard a coach at Loyola High School, just outside of Chicago, IL, tell his athletes, “You have to KNOW that you’re going to get a hit, every time you step up to the plate.” My question for him is, “Have you taught them how to do that?”
In this article, we’ll cover The 3 Keys to Confidence. If you TAKE ACTION on these three things. I can personally guarantee your confidence will skyrocket on the field. The best part is, you can use these off the field as well and they’ll do the exact same thing - help take your confidence through the roof. Everybody talks about being a High Performer - but barely anyone does what High Performers do. Here are the 3 Keys for you to take action on: Body Language, Focus, and Self-Talk.
Body Language
Numero uno is body language. When it comes to body language, it’s all about acting how you want to feel. We’ve heard it all before: “Fake it until you make it.” “Fake it until you become it.” “Fake it until you feel it.” Although this is easy to say, it takes knowledge around the subject and a shift in mindset to understand WHY having strong body language is essential to confidence and performance.
World Champion MMA Fight, George St. Pierre, talks about body language and how he ACTS confident even when he doesn’t FEEL confident. Check out this video to hear him talk about it.
There’s an old saying that someone who claims they never get scared or afraid is either lying or stupid. Even the greats talk about how they were scared before their fights. Even the greats talk about how they had thoughts beforehand about not being able to succeed. Then, when it’s time to perform, and they flip the switch, they become unstoppable.
Here’s another video of Mike Tyson talking about how afraid he was before stepping into the ring. He says that he’s had nightmares about his opponent beating him and that he’s been scared of losing to him. Then he steps into the ring and exclaims, “I’m a god. Nobody can beat me.”
In baseball, regardless of if you’re 8 for your last 11 or 0 for 11, you can act confidently, but the real question is HOW DO YOU TRAIN THIS???
Here’s how… It’s called your Octagon Walk. You grab your bat by the barrel and you practice walking from the on deck circle to home plate with the most swagger and the biggest body language you can possibly muster. You walk up there like NO MATTER WHAT, there is no way you can lose. The game will not beat you. You will be the aggressor. You will fight and you will be victorious.
Why doesn’t this help though? Why does it matter how you walk up to the plate? How can ACTING confident help you start FEELING confident?
Amy Cuddy, former Harvard researcher, found that just by standing in certain postures, you’re more or less likely to change hormones, moods, and subsequent behaviors. Check out the video to hear about her experiment she ran. This excerpt is from her Ted Talk, which is the second most watched Ted Talk in history.
Amy Cuddy Video Breakdown
Let’s talk about risk real quick. Just by standing in a low power position, you’re less likely to take a risk. That means if you’re an outfielder, and you’re pitcher gives up a duck snort, you’re less likely to dive and make a great play, thus making that great play, a non-play. Back when I was pitching in high school, I remember my center fielder having a bad season at the plate. The worst part was that he brought those at-bats into the outfield and subsequently, didn’t lay out for balls that he normally would have.
Testosterone: Bigger, faster, stronger. Throw harder, run faster, more focus. Just be standing in a low power position, you’re going to be less focused. Less focus means less quality at-bats. Less quality at-bats means lower batting average + worse teammate. As we know, baseball is a game of inches and focus is key. Just by carrying you’re a certain way, you can increase your chances of being called safe instead of out.
Cortisol: Commonly referred to as the stress hormone. Want to be less anxious, nervous, or otherwise agitated? Stand in a power position. Take up space. GET BIG.
In closing: People say, “Fake it until you make it.” This is the crux of that discussion - act a certain way and you will begin to feel that way. Act confident and you will begin to feel confident.
Focus
Pick a coach that you know (or a parent). How many times have they said, “Hey, focus!” “Focus up right here.” “Focus on this pitch.”
They’ve probably said something similar to one of those statements multiple times, but what are you supposed to focus on? What are you supposed to do to improve your focus?
Here are 3 things:
1 - Focus on what you can control.
This one is pretty straight forward. Make a list of all of the things you CANNOT CONTROL. Once you have this list, think about what happens when you focus on one of those things. Inevitably, it will lead to frustration, irritation, aggravation, and every other negative emotion you can think of.
Now make a list of all of the things that you CAN CONTROL. There is true power in this list. This is where your sense of control comes from. The athletes that focus on this list are the ones that stay consistent and continue to get better each and every day. When people talk about these athletes, they say, “Wow, they’re always so calm under pressure.” “Why does it seem like nothing ever phases them?”
When it comes to the things you can control, again, it’s pretty simple. It boils down to APE. A-P-E.
A: Attitude and appearance (how you carry yourself)
P: Presence, Preparation, Perspective
E: Energy and Effort
You can even make it YAPE if you wanted, because you can control YOURSELF. Most athletes, when they fill out that list of uncontrollables, they write down items such as: The other team, my teammates, my coaches, fans, my parents, my significant others, etc.
They write down OTHER PEOPLE, because they know they can’t control other people, but sometimes we forget that we can only control ourselves: Our AAPPPEE.
2 - Concentration Grids
Now, if you know what concentration grids are, I’m going to start you out with something that might just blow your mind: There is no conclusive evidence that concentration grids ACTUALLY improve your focus.
I’ll tell you what they do in fact do though: They help build awareness. Sports are games of awareness. That which you are aware of, you control. That which you are unaware of, controls you. Awareness → Control → Confidence, and concentration grids help build awareness.
Download the app Concentration Grid or go to https://tryconcentrationgrid.com/menu.html to try them out.
Start easy. Start by just rolling through a 5x5 grid or a 10x10 grid. Start in a quiet, controlled environment. Then, as you become more experienced, do it where there are distractions: On the train, in the hallway, at work/school, or at a party. My brother and I used to verse each other in the airport all of the time.
And while you’re doing it. Notice what is happening. Notice what happens when you can’t find a number, what do you do? Do you get frustrated? Do you say, “It’s not even on here…”? Do you take a deep breath? Were you focused on number 19 even though you were still on number 18?
Then when you notice something like that… ask yourself how it relates to your sport.
“What happened while I was doing the concentration grid is relatable to what happens in the game because…”
This is literally what John Lester, pitcher for the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs, did when he first started going through concentration grids with his mental skills coach, Bob Tewksbury. Lester explained that he noticed when he was on number 21, he was already looking for number 22. By doing this, he also noticed that sometimes after he got strike one on a hitter, he was already focused on striking them out instead of on getting strike two.
Do a concentration grid and if you beat 3:43 (my personal best on a 10x10 grid, hit me up at Tyler@PazikPerformanceGroup.com or text me a picture at 847-922-1371).
Download the app Concentration Grid or go to https://tryconcentrationgrid.com/menu.html to try them out.
3 - In Game Routines
This might just be the most important strategy to help boost your confidence on the field. I would even venture to say that it is THE most important. In my 1% Program I do every year, I have a whole lesson on JUST THIS. It’s 17 minutes and if you’re looking to take your game to the next level, then this is your ticket. Check out this webinar on the in-game routine called the Recognize, Release, and Reset system (Click here to download the PDF).
Link to Video: Click Here
Link to PDF: Click Here
In conclusion, focusing isn’t that hard, it’s just that some people have trained their ability to focus, and some haven’t. Train your ability using these three strategies and I guarantee you’ll take your confidence to the next level.
Self-Talk
Power statements, positive affirmations, mantras, green light thoughts, self-talk has been called a number of things. But I want to talk about power performance phrases. When you’re playing at your best, what type of things are you thinking? When you’re at your best, what type of words are going through your head? What’s the self-talk like? In sport psychology, high performance, there is a term we use, it’s called “self-talk.” It’s that little voice inside of your head that talks to you constantly. And you might be sitting there right now and thinking, “Dude, what is this guy talking about? I don’t talk to myself. This guy is crazy.” That’s exactly the voice I’m talking about. So right now, in your mind, I would like you to sing the first verse of the national anthem.
Now hum it.
That voice that you heard inside of your head, that is your self-talk. The question is, when you’re performing in your athletic domain, or you’re taking a test, is that voice FOR you or is it AGAINST you? We all have that person on top of our shoulder that’s pumping us up and telling us we can do it, and we all have that voice that’s ripping us down and being a drain and telling you that you can’t do it. So we’ve got to strengthen that voice that tells us we can. How do we do that?
A couple of things. One: Take your power performance phrase and your statement of goals, and write them down on a card, like the size of a business card (email me and I’ll personally send you one in the mail. I literally have like 500.. ha!). I have mine right in my phone case. I look at it a lot more often because I have it on me all the time.
Milt Campbell, the first African American to win a gold medal back in 1956 said, “#1, do you have goal? #2 Have you written down your goals? #3 Do you have your written down goals with your right now?” So write your power performance phrase down either on a card you can carry with you everywhere or maybe even on your bathroom mirror with an erasable marker. Then, when you clean the mirror, you have to rewrite your goals. Write down those power performance phrases:
- I drive the ball of the middle.
- I play with huge body language and confidence.
- I believe in myself.
- I will enact the be first mentality and be the first to say hi to all of my teammates.
- I will be disciplined in this moment.
These are what you want to hear inside of your head! Anything else… step out, go through the recognize, release, reset system I talked about in the focus section above, and then get back to work.
A great story, one of my 1-on-1 clients, a high school baseball player named Sean Holbrook, told me is about how to use this system properly. So, Sean was batting late in the game with one out and a guy on first. That run was the tying run. Sean steps in and goes through his routine – He takes a deep breath while focusing on the top of the pitcher’s hat, and then imagines himself hitting a line drive into the opposite field gap. He gets into his stance and notices that he’s not actually thinking about hitting a line drive in the gap, but he’s thinking about NOT rolling it over to the shortstop for a double play. So he casually steps out, hits his release by readjusting his batting gloves and taking a deep breath on his focal point, then steps back in, takes a deep breath on the hat of the pitcher and recommits to his final thought of a line drive into the right center gap. He gets set, the pitcher throws the pitch, and BAM, he hits a single up the middle. That is the recognize, release, reset system in action and THAT is TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR SELF-TALK.
It took work though. He had to figure out what his self-talk even was when he was playing at his best. He had to do meditation and work on his ability to catch his thoughts. If you’re looking for a great meditation app, try Headspace or Calm. They’re both great for improving your awareness around what your self-talk is so that you can, as Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “Be mindful of your thoughts.”
IN CONCLUSION
Body language, focus, and self-talk are The 3 Keys to Confidence.
Quick Notes (click the links below for videos and strategies)
Body Language:
Focus:
Control What You Can Control
Self-Talk:
If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or want to dive into this material further, please send me an email at Tyler@PazikPerformanceGroup.com or call/text me at 847-922-1371.
Or Sign Up For a Call With Me Below!
Thank you!
