Peak Performance through Confidence
Why Confidence Matters
Whether in sports, business, or relationships, no one can perform at their best without confidence. Confidence allows us to take action, persist through challenges, and achieve our full potential. As Lanny Basham states in ‘With Winning in Mind’, "Self-image and performance are always equal. To change your performance, you must first change your self-image." It is a psychological principle that the stronger your belief in your own abilities, the better you will perform.
How Confidence Works
In ‘The Confident Mind’, Nate Zinsser describes confidence as "a mental model we create based on our past experiences and our interpretation of those experiences." If we focus on mistakes and failures, we reinforce doubt and insecurity. If instead we focus on our successes, no matter how small, we reinforce confidence.
Likewise, Timothy Gallwey, in ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’, highlights how our inner dialogue shapes our performance. Negative self-talk can sabotage us, while positive self-talk allows us to perform at our best.
How to Build Confidence
The good news is that confidence can be built through consistent mental training, just like physical strength is built through exercise. Dr. Russ Harris, in ‘The Confidence Gap’, explains that rather than waiting until you feel confident to take action, taking action builds confidence, and that confidence grows when we reinforce a positive self-image through intentional daily practices.
Below are key methods to build unshakable confidence through consistent daily practices.
1. Affirmations and Visualization
Your brain does not differentiate between real and vividly imagined experiences. This is why elite athletes use affirmations and visualization techniques to boost confidence and improve performance. If you mentally rehearse success, you program yourself to perform successfully.
Affirmations: Develop and repeat empowering statements about yourself daily. These should align with the person you want to become.
Visualization: Each morning, visualize yourself succeeding in key areas of your day, and also of living your ideal future life. See yourself performing well and achieving your goals. As Tom Ferry asks, “How would the superhero version of you act?” Visualize it!
2. Review Your "Hero Bars"
Brian Johnson, author of ‘Areté’, suggests making and reviewing a written list of past achievements, especially if you overcame obstacles — your “Hero Bars.” Each day, eat your Hero Bars by reading them to build confidence. I loved this idea and had fun putting my Hero Bars in writing. Since I put “Review Hero Bars” in my Daily Commitments Checklist as part of my Morning Routine, I boost my confidence by reading them over every morning.
3. Each Day, Reflect On The Day’s Successes
We all naturally focus on what went wrong and what we didn’t get done. Still, no matter the day, you undoubtedly did some things well. Focusing on what you did well builds your confidence.
4. Posture and Power Poses
Take advantage of the mind-body connection to boost your confidence. Studies show that having a confident posture (chest up, shoulders down and back, crown of your head pulled up like it’s on a string) measurably improves self-confidence. You can boost confidence further by striking a power pose (like a bodybuilder) and looking in the mirror. Sounds crazy, but it’s proven to work.
5. Use a “Pre-Game Ritual”
This is commonly done by athletes, but can apply equally to any part of your life where you want to perform your best. Create and follow a short little ritual designed to build your confidence, right before you perform, such as taking 2 deep breaths, and then saying to yourself “I am powerful! I can do anything! I’ve got this!” and then smiling.
How to implement this into your life:
Building confidence isn’t about simply “keeping it in mind.” It’s about embedding confidence-building practices into your daily life through specific, structured actions. Here’s how:
Add Hero Bars to your Daily Commitments Checklist – Write down moments where you succeeded and review them daily.
Add Visualization to your Daily Commitments Checklist.
Add Affirmations to your Daily Commitments Checklist.
Add Posture and Power Poses to your Daily Commitments Checklist.
Use Your Happiful Planner for Daily Wins – At the end of each day, write down three wins from the day - big or small - in your Happiful Planner.
By integrating these confidence-building actions into your daily routines with the Happiful system, you will train yourself to trust in your abilities and perform at your best, no matter the challenge.
