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One characteristic that I truly admire in a person is self-confidence as they move forward in this world of ours. I have to admit there were times in my life I found myself lacking in self-confidence which came from a position of lack chock-full with insecurity, fear and doubt. I forgot that I had always possessed self-confidence attributed from my spirituality and many years in sport. Catherine Ponder, Author of Dynamic Laws of Prosperity, postulates that confidence is “a part of your spiritual nature, with which you were endowed when you were created”. Let’s be frank, I’m not expecting everyone to get into sports to find their self-confidence, I am just giving you my perspective in how I was able to find my confidence through sport.  I had the opportunity to try several different sports imaginable to find my niche. Figure skating, gymnastics, badminton, karate, track and field and dance for crying out loud, the list was endless. I bounced from rink, to gym, to track and then finally found my niche in the pool. Swimming taught me how to be a team player, instilled leadership skills and most of all to hone my self-confidence.Â
How do you build self-confidence? There are several valuable tools that I have learned and continue to utilize to improve my self-confidence and here are three empowering tools to guide you:
- Surround yourself with like-minded people. Their confidence and positive energy subconsciously will “rub off”.Â
- A positive mental attitude will also develop self-confidence. The days you are feeling pessimistic; smile and dial into your channel of optimism with positive energy. Don’t allow your moods to define you.
- Visualization – Believe and visualize your dreams. Top athletes practise visualization techniques in competition. Your confidence will soar as your dreams become reality.
Going forward on my path and with my love of sport I found golf to be the new tool to assist me to refine my self-confidence. How can golf possibly help me it’s simple. When I’m playing it allows me to stay completely in the moment. Golf teaches me to be patient and also not to be so darn hard on myself and fight the voice of self-criticism. I know intuitively that I am adept in my abilities and with courage and confidence eventually success is achieved. Deepak Chopra eloquently states: “In its soul, golf is away to transcend. Golf really and truly is about facing the unknown, because when you are forced to take in every particle of who you are, it is more than you can ever know. When you transcend you don’t walk away from the game or float above it. You merge. You and the game become one.” Whether it is a good or bad, the game is liberating and when I leave the course I radiate confidence and absolute happiness!
The older I get the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball-the further I am rolled, the more I gain. – Susan B. Anthony
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I attended the Mastermind Retreat this week in Florida and had an unforgettable experience at Billy Beck III’s training facility there. He reviewed  the steps to having the best body ever from the inside out and challenged each person to visualize their goals and write them down on a piece of cut board.  On the other side of the board, we were asked to write down what we thought would stop us from achieving these goals.  Next, he asked us to cross out those words with a big X, then write the mantra or as some might say,  affirmation, “I am… ” and filled in the blank with a picture of how we envisioned ourselves. A few examples might be, I am strong, I am fearless, I am an inner warrior, etc. Finally, it was time to breakthrough to the other side.  One by one, each person stood in front of their board looking at what is stopping them from achieving their goals and at the same time examining their affirmation.
After watching the press conference of the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, I came away feeling like I wanted to suit up and play for Coach Mike Tomlin! If you ever get the chance to hear this man speak, don’t pass it up! He is awesome!
the traffic is, or any other number of “complaints”. And while it sure would be nice for everything to run smoothly and go the way we initially planned, almost nothing ever does. As John Lennon said “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” How profound is THAT!?
Last month on my birthday, I encountered a homeless man in a wheelchair when I came out of the post office on that Sunday morning. Â He had a small cardboard sign stating that he had suffered a stroke. Â He didn’t ask for money or anything although he could speak. Since I was the only person in the parking lot, I said hello to him and asked him if I could get him something. Â He seemed surprised that someone acknowledged him and said that he really wanted a cheeseburger. Â Ok, it’s 7 am. Â Can you buy a cheeseburger at 7am? Â I went next door to a fast food place and asked if they made burgers at that time of day. Â Five minutes later, I had a burger, fries and a drink. Â I returned to the post office and gave it to the man. He was delighted and so grateful. Â I fumbled around for words and merely came up with, “Be careful out here”. Â He confidently replied by saying, “No need to worry, I’m in a really good place right now”.
