{"id":25,"date":"2007-05-18T02:02:00","date_gmt":"2007-05-18T02:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peaksports.com\/sports_psychology_blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2025-06-16T05:28:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T09:28:28","slug":"mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Toughness And Self-Confidence in Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6976\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/negative-self-talk.jpg\" alt=\"Self Talk in Sports\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/negative-self-talk.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/negative-self-talk-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_You_Should_Avoid_Negative_Self-Talk\"><\/span>Why You Should Avoid Negative Self-Talk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-transparent ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Article Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #0769bf;color:#0769bf\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/#Why_You_Should_Avoid_Negative_Self-Talk\" >Why You Should Avoid Negative Self-Talk<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/#Impact_Of_Negative_Self-Talk\" >Impact Of Negative Self-Talk<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/#Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\" >Related Sports Psychology Articles<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/#The_Confident_Athlete\" >The Confident Athlete<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p>I recently worked with a high school athlete who was plagued by those nasty inner gremlins. You know the type \u201c that little guy or gal inside your head what would not shut up and kept asking irrelevant questions. This kept my student from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/\">developing confidence and playing to his full potential<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll call him Joe. Joe was a very hard-working golfer. He spent hours at the practice tee and green honing his skills. He took a ton of lessons to improve his swing and putting stroke. He was very committed to the game. All of this so he could play well in tournaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, in competition, he did not excel. Why did Joe struggle in competition if he worked so hard in practice and was so dedicated to his sport? Joe could not shake his inner gremlins &#8211; voices inside him that told him repeatedly that he would choke under pressure and kept reminding him of his past failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, Joe called himself awful names\u009d such as you&#8217;re a choker &#8211; you choke every time under pressure and you&#8217;re a poor closer &#8211; you can&#8217;t get the job done under the heat.\u009d All his name calling because he had blown a big lead in one tournament, which he could never forget and let go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are inner gremlins? I am not talking about little green men here &#8211; I&#8217;m talking about the voices of inner doubts, negative beliefs, and negative labels that plague athletes and leave them to wallow in a comfort zone or to crumble under the pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Impact_Of_Negative_Self-Talk\"><\/span>Impact Of Negative Self-Talk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What would happen if you could banish your inner gremlins of the past before the biggest game or performance of your career? Would this help you perform with a better focus and confidence? I would think so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing I am certain about \u201c an athlete cannot perform up to his or her potential unless I can help him or her uncover and eradicate the gremlins that whisper negative statements at just the wrong time. The first place I start with my students is to help them identify unhealthy beliefs, doubts and strict outcome expectations that undermine performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we don&#8217;t address the inner gremlins, the other work we do to improving focus, confidence, and composure will amount to underachievement because the gremlins will override massive amounts of positive thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you want to identify and let go of your past gremlins so you can perform your best under pressure? I have a great teleseminar on this topic called I Can Cope! Performing Your Very Best Under Pressure in my online mental training programs along with more than 24 others waiting for you to tune into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Go check out the topics if you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/\"><strong>want to increase self-confidence and reduce doubt in sports!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Patrick J. Cohn, Ph.D.,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"block-979ef383-5bc7-43ee-b8f9-249663ca1a6c\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Sports_Psychology_Articles\"><\/span>Related Sports Psychology Articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-05642731-8752-4dbf-9c18-5cc4d276e821\" class=\"wp-block-list has-normal-font-size\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/building-self-confidence-in-sports-peaksports-video\/\"><strong>Building Self-Confidence In Sports \u2013 Peaksports Video<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/how-perfectionism-can-hurt-athletes-self-confidence\/\"><strong>How Perfectionism Can Hurt Athletes Self-Confidence<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/proactive-vs-reactive-self-confidence-in-sports-webinar-2\/\"><strong>Proactive vs. Reactive Self-Confidence \u2013 Webinar 2<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-5726d13f-f715-4ca4-8813-2f8a9ebd8bc3\">*Subscribe to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/sports-psychology-podcast-by-peaksports-com\/id152566009\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on iTunes<br>*Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0ynyaalKxbnNmsoeL8gF5X?si=8224669de9b3435b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>The Sports Psychology Podcast<\/strong><\/a> on Spotify<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-281f5afb-980b-4c71-9aa0-11d606b5f7c9\"><strong>Download a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/mental-toughness-report-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free sports psychology report<\/a>&nbsp;to improve your mental game!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\" id=\"block-94138e75-d591-4645-bb1d-212cf57a8841\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sport-psychology-training-athletes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more about our one-on-one mental game coaching.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-dots\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Confident_Athlete\"><\/span>The Confident Athlete <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/confident-athlete-audio250.jpg\" alt=\"The Confident Athlete Audio\" class=\"wp-image-16347\" style=\"width:198px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d consists of 2 audio programs that include 14 days of confidence fueling exercises and a simple to follow workbook that guides you through the 14 days, helps you apply the strategies, and customizes the exercises to your personal needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me help you put a <strong>stop to the confidence leak<\/strong>. You can learn to have greater levels of confidence in competition than you do in practice by identifying the specific ways you undermine your own confidence and <strong>how to convert your practice confidence into COMPETITIVE CONFIDENCE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Confident Athlete\u201d is a ground-breaking system to teach you how to think like a champion and have ultimate self-confidence every time you step on the playing field, court, track, or course. The confident athletes was <strong>developed for any athlete \u2013 junior to professional \u2013<\/strong>that wants to gain confidence. However, coaches and sports parents can learn how to teach others to perform with ultimate confidence. Use my program if you want to bust a slump or just wanting higher or more consistent levels of self-confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-0b39f7aa\">\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-a74417ae gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/the-confident-athlete-cd-program\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GET DETAILS<\/a>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"gb-button gb-button-461ab57c gb-button-text\" href=\"https:\/\/shop.peaksports.com\/collections\/the-confident-athlete-series-digital-download\/products\/the-confident-athlete-digital\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BUY NOW<\/a>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why You Should Avoid Negative Self-Talk I recently worked with a high school athlete who was plagued by those nasty inner gremlins. You know the type \u201c that little guy or gal inside your head what would not shut up and kept asking irrelevant questions. This kept my student from developing confidence and playing to his full potential. &#8230; <a title=\"Mental Toughness And Self-Confidence in Sports\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/mental-toughness-self-confidence-in-sports\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Mental Toughness And Self-Confidence in Sports\">Sport Psychology Article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6975,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,5,3,4],"tags":[318,246,130,949],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boost-self-confidence","category-mental-game-of-sports","category-mental-toughness","category-mental-toughness-in-sports","tag-confidence-in-sports","tag-mental-toughness","tag-positive-self-talk","tag-self-talk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO Pro 4.9.5.2 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why did Joe struggle in competition if he worked so hard in practice and was so dedicated to his sport? 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