Building Self Esteem in Athletes

By Leila Pinto Almeida


Self esteem and confidence are two traits that every athlete must possess in order to remain competitive and consistent on the field. Low self esteem and low self-confidence can make an athlete nervous, anxious, and/or depressed about his game. Encouragement, praising performance, and rewarding athletic achievements can boost an athlete's self esteem and confidence, not only on the field, but also in life.To encourage a young athlete, parents and coaches should use both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. Encouragement can come in the form of a spirited locker-room pep talk or a simple handshake and smile. Stern facial expressions and harsh language from the sidelines can make an athlete nervous and fearful of making a mistake. When an athlete is forced to focus entirely on his own performance, he or she can fail to pay attention to the game and the other athletes around them. When this occurs, an athlete may find that the more they're discouraged, the more they hesitate, leading to even more discouragement, and more hesitation.

Building Self Esteem.The Elderly are very vulnerable when they are at the mercy of a Nursing Home. If the Elderly are used to living at the Home and have a strong personality then they will feel reassured about speaking out and having self-esteem. But if they are new to the Nursing Home, or have a change in their care plan needs because of their own health then it is most likely that their Self Esteem will need to be reassessed.

Thoughts are not enough by themselves. It's not enough to think right. You could sit in a corner and think all the thoughts you want and still not make any change to your condition. You also need to do the required steps. And this takes work, planning, strategy, thinking, action and developing skills. Thinking right is great but it's not enough by itself. You also need to act.There's proof that good health can be influenced by your thoughts.Scientists have discovered how belief works at the physical level. Basically, beliefs can change your cells and even switch off or on your genes. This means that you can become someone else mentally and physically through changing your thought patterns. Also, in the past few years, scientists have discovered through the use of REMs how the thoughts that people have on a daily basis rewires the brain at a physical level.

Be careful about having too many assumptions. Assumptions can lead you astray. Assumptions are beliefs that you take for granted. This means that you don't question them and assume them to be true. People in general are pretty logical. They get into trouble when they assume certain wrong things to be true. Examine your more cherished beliefs and test them.The above ideas and principles will help you take control of your mind and direct your thoughts towards success. They require dedication, work, ambition and a lot of patience.I have posted an earlier article (7 self esteem boosters for children) which gives an outline of how the parent or the caregiver can help. Now I want to inform you on how to take action on the theory. I'll walk you though how I do it. You will be able to look over my shoulder and do the same.

Unlike girls, in adolescence boys are naturally competitive and aggressive, encouraging their autonomy and sense of agency. Girls' self-esteem begins to suffer from the age of nine, and by adolescence, they fall behind. Feelings of powerlessness and the need for external validation, especially regarding appearance, increase, while self-esteem declines. Whereas, boys generally tend to challenge authority more than girls, if girls are discouraged from taking risks or pursuing goals, they may develop an attitude of "I can't," instead of "I can." Overtime, such young women may develop a passive attitude toward life. This lack of agency and self-esteem can eventually lead to depression.

Keeping Self Esteem High.Once you have the Self Esteem back on track for the Elderly then it is just as important to keep the Self Esteem High. If one of the members of the staff start to speak in a voice that has no respect for the Elderly then all the staff need to pull together to turn the situation around and address the Elderly in a way that shows the person feels loved and cared about. It is important for our aged generation to feel love, to feel peace and to know that they were once an important person in society.

If you decide upon an activity, where you have an interest or its something you have always wanted to do, then even better.We're located close to a beach here in Finland so we decided together to try windsurfing this summer. Our two boys are just beginning their teenage years and are good swimmers.What resources or support do you need to carry out the activity? For sand castle building you just need to find a couple of buckets and spades, and you are set to go. For vegetable plot creation there will be more materials to obtain: timber, soil, young plants, protective netting etc.For windsurfing, I needed to check the local beaches and find a windsurfing school who could provide lessons and rent equipment. So again there is planning to do before you can try the activity. Again you can do some internet research together. You will be surprised at how fast they can obtain the required information. Again, this is another activity promoting responsibility and greatly assists in building self esteem in children.

Keeping promises to yourself is as important as keeping promises to others. We all know how it feels to be disappointed when someone does not keep their word. When you give yourself your word, and do not follow through, your spirit is disappointed. If you do it enough, you find yourself in a self fulfilling prophecy that says "See, nothing ever works out for me, I told you it wouldn't".You are probably familiar with the feeling that comes with the victory of following through on a successful mission. Ask someone who has quit smoking or lost 20 pounds. They kept promises to themselves and saw results. Now think about the times you told yourself you were going to do something and didn't. It wasn't the forces of nature working against you. It was you letting yourself down. That's a withdrawal.

People feel more effective when they take action, and action-oriented people tend to have higher self-esteem. They take action despite how they feel. They don't wait passively for things to change or expect others to change their lives. Although self-awareness of thoughts and feelings is important, if it preempts action, it can undermine self-efficacy, and ultimately self-esteem. Keep in mind that action requires attention directed toward solving a problem, and includes journaling, expressing feelings, making a list, obtaining information, writing a letter, thinking through a problem, making a statement or decision, or even changing your attitude.Think about an area in your life where your self-esteem is low. How could you take more self-responsibility? What specific, small step would generate a greater sense of self-efficacy and make you feel better about yourself?




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