Self-Confidence Exercise 3
Success Log
Some athletes have difficulty recalling previous performances or training successes to use in confidence building. Sometimes this is due to a simple lack of awareness – the athlete has never had to “tune in” to this before and may need to pay better attention to his or her performances. Often, especially for perfectionist, high achieving athletes, it is easier for them to pay attention to their mistake as opposed to good things that have happened in practice or competition.
To help you redirect your focus to include awareness of your successes, the “success log” has been developed. The idea is simple. After each practice and competition, you must log three things that you did correctly or successfully. At first, some athletes find this adjustment in focus difficult since being critical and focusing on mistake has been their habit for so long. Filling in your “success log” on a regular basis can help you see the whole of you performances – both good and bad – and
will provide you with more confidence building material.
Example:
Monday
1. I got to practice on time!
2. I was able to maintain good form through all practice drills.
3. I hit my target time on over ¾ of the timed drills.
The example shows that you can begin with positives that may not be directly performance related.