CO Square

FOcuss COncentration and COnfidence

As you have guessed, the third element closely linked to Focus and Concentration is Confidence.

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Clearly, confidence is an essential part of high performance, so it should be worthwhile to look at the relationship between focus concentration and confidence.

Now, unlike focus styles and concentration, confidence is not something that you prepare training exercises for. It can - and needs to - be developed however and I will dwell on this in a subsequent post.

The following 2 diagrams illustrate the interconnection between focus and confidence:

{Diagrams with small modifications come from a presentation by Dr Nideffer}

High confidence Level

With a high level of confidence, the performer is aware early in the recovery process. He can let go of internal thoughts and concerns to remain focused on relevant external cues. Look at the Tiger woods example in the previous post. (Here is he story)

Low Confidence level

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Due to the lack of confidence, the recovery process slows downs and results in a vicious circle. The longer it takes to recover, the more the internal tension remains or increases, the more the mind is occupied with internal emotions and and less with relevant cues. As a result the performer fails to anticipate. The problem increases and so does the anxiety.