When Self-Confidence Is on Thin Ice

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

Tune out all negative discussion and comments
about things that have already happened.
Focus on what you are doing now.

                On Saturday night, I watched the United States Ladies’ figure-skating championship. This was the big night for these women, because the outcome of this competition would (could) determine who would be on the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi, Russia, next month. One of the skaters—a “favorite” to win the championship—had apparently been repeating some very costly mistakes in her recent skating competitions and had fallen a few times, too. A reporter mentioned that this woman had apparently just missed being selected to compete in the Winter Olympics in 2010, so she was probably putting even more pressure on herself to make the 2014 team. He went on to describe the extra hours of training she had put in and then listed all of the previous skating “faults” that had kept her off the podium in recent championships.  The pressure was on, and I tried to think positive, confidence-boosting thoughts for her as she started her program. This is what I would like to have said to her and some guided imagery that I would have provided, to help increase her confidence so she would feel comfortable to go out and skate her best:

·         Tune out all of the negative discussion, comments and analysis about your previous events that you may overhear around you. These things have already happened. They are over, and it is time to focus on the program you will be skating now.

·         Take a minute to relive how confident and enthusiastic and joyful you felt when you won your last championship. When you have a good image of this experience, draw a deep breath and feel the power, excitement and confidence that you have when you have skated well. Then release any lingering negativity or doubt as you exhale that breath.

·         Allow your body to do what it already knows how to do. You have done each of these jumps, spins, arabesques, etc. thousands of times in practice and in other competitions. Your body knows how to do each of these things, so keep your mind/thoughts out if your body’s way.

·         As you smile during your performance, notice how this smile is building and boosting your confidence exponentially. The more you smile, the more confident you feel. The more confident you feel, the bigger your smile becomes, and so on.

·         As you skate, enjoy how you feel as you glide, spin and leap over the ice. Skate for the love of skating and how good it makes you feel.

·         You are already a champion many times over! You are competing at this national championship because you earned the right to be there, through the various competitions you have won in the past year.

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.