Posted on June 15, 2008 - by rdilipk1

The Confidence Quotient

‘Confidence’ is an abstract term. What is confidence? Is there a set formula to develop confidence in you? This is a question anybody would ask when we talk about high and low confidence.’, ‘

It was the starting of the Indian Premier League. The entire tournament involved huge money. There were a lot of good players playing for the various participating teams and these players were being paid huge amounts of money. Because the tournament involved such huge amounts of money, the expectations were also high. There were certain teams studded with stars and there were certain other that had no or, less tsart in their teams. These teams were hence ranked based on their star value. Once such team was the “Rajasthan Royals”. They were being called as the “underdogs”. With no so-called stars in their team, theirs was the only team without a coach. A team filled with young domestic players were up against star studded teams.

It was the first match for the “Rajasthan Royals”. As the match ended, I started to realize the reason why this team was being called the “underdogs”. The Rajasthan royals had lost, though not by a huge margin. I felt, this team cannot win. They are there to loose.

Today, as I write this article the Rajasthan Royals have played 6 matches and have won 5 out of then and were topping the score board. Difficult to believe for me and so it would be for anybody. What is it that made it happen? My brother said, “They were oozing with confidence”. So I assume it was “Confidence” that made this happen.

So what is Confidence? How is that inducted into us and into a team that were born to loose? These were questions that were difficult to answer. A “motivational guru” would tell you that you build it in you. But he would still be unable to explain to you, ”how”.

Confidence comes with winning. It comes with you believing that you can win. It comes with that minute bit of hope that you have that you can win. What would have happened of the Rajasthan Royals was thus. The team lost to one the best teams in the tournament by a narrow margin which made them think that they were in with a chance. It was that gentle little push that they lacked because of which they lost. When they walked into the next match they knew that all that they had to do was, ”do what they did” in the last match and ”add a gentle little push”. They worked on their plan and the result was that they won. This was all that they required. The matches to follow were no problem because one win had inducted that confidence in them and it only grew with every passing match.

Confidence is indeed abstract. When you have lost a couple of times, you are low in confidence. Just sit down for a minute and identify that one aspect where you were better than your opponent. Tell yourself how important this attribute was and how dominant you were in this attribute. You will start to feel like a ”King”. Go out and look for that first win. One win and you are into the competition.

Confidence comes with winning. So if you want to build your confidence, then first learn to win. Find that edge that you posses which will help you win. Polish it and make it your primary weapon. Fight like a knight and use this weapon at all times. You will find that you are confident.