Salvaging confidence when things are going poorly

When things are going well, times are dropping, your coach tells you

how good your look in the water (and you feel it, too) . . . confidence

almost seems to flow from you. You’re performing well in practice and

have reason to be confident that you’ll perform well in competition.

During rough times, performance slumps, when you don’t feel right in the

water . . . these are the times when it is most challenging to remain

confident. What can you do to still believe in your abilities when your

“abilities” seem to have left you?

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. It is difficult to truly believe in

your ability to perform well (to be successful) when you aren’t performing

well. However, we can offer a few strategies and suggestions to help you salvage

your confidence when things are going poorly.

Focus on achievable goals: Instead of setting a goal to swim an in-season best

time which may not be realistic right now, focus on a goal that is challenging yet

realistic. For instance, to swim a best time by the end of the season, you need to

work on the back half of your race. So, set a goal of negative splitting your race. It

is do-able and will set you up for fast racing later.

Recreate past successes: Go back, in your mind, to last season when you were

swimming well. Recall how you felt, what you said to yourself and how you focused

when standing on the blocks getting ready to race. Try to recreate that now. Set the

stage for your success. While a multitude of factors affect performance, your

attitude and thoughts certainly have an influence. Strive to recreate the “mental

environment” that has proven beneficial.

Carry “P’s with you: P stands for Positives. When not swimming well, there is a

tendency to be attuned to negatives; to focus on all the negative things that confirm

you are not swimming well. For example, a swimmer who is struggling will get out of

practice and remember the two missed intervals and how heavy his legs felt on the

kick set. You need to force yourself to acknowledge the P’s – the positive, good

things that occurred such as improvements in technique or feeling better than the

day before. These P's should go with you to competitions to give you confidence

that things are turning around.

Self-Confidence

Develop and stick to a competition plan: Prior to the competition, figure out how

you are going to execute the race and how you need to be, physically and mentally,

to race well. “Plant” the things you want to say to yourself, decide how you are

going to focus before and during the race and commit to doing it. Too often, athletes

get distracted by the environment and allow extraneous thoughts and feelings to

enter into their preparation (thoughts that can be detrimental to confidence).

Develop a plan in advance; one that is conducive to confident feelings.

Be patient: Accept that your confidence will not rebound “in the blink of an eye”. It

is undoubtedly going to take perseverance, persistence, and patience on your part to

work through this challenging time. But, believe that with effort and patience you

can enhance your confidence.