The Psychology of Self-Belief
Self-belief has been shown to be a powerful force in helping us maximize our potential. In the following article I will discussing why self-belief is necessary component in our success from a psychological perspective. I will also be sharing one of my favourite tools to instantly develop a greater sense of self-belief.
Definition of Self-Belief
Self-belief and its related terms such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-assurance all fall under the umbrella of confidence. But for the purpose of this article, I will be referring to self-belief as the “perceived ability to accomplish a certain level of performance”.
There are many benefits to having a high-level self-belief but perhaps most notably is its role in building resilience and enhancing performance results. Let’s explore how self-belief can help us be more resilient as well as allow us to achieve greater performance results.
Resilience
Reaching your mountaintops in life require resilience and perseverance since the climb will not be without challenge, obstacles, fatigue, discomfort and the like. The truth is that the only way that you will continue and preserve through the obstacles is if you have a strong belief that reaching the top is indeed possible. If you however think that it is not possible and your efforts are futile then you are more likely to give up when facing challenges.
This highlights the importance self-belief plays in helping you persevere through the obstacles as you scale your mountains.
I have seen this growing up on the Cape Flats in Cape Town – a place where gangs, poverty and drugs are the norm. Though many of my peers were bright, filled with potential and had ambitious goals growing up, most of them never reached their potential and succumbed to the negative influences of the environment. The main reason for this is that the environment wasn’t conducive to instilling the belief that people ‘like us’ can do and achieve great things – we weren’t used to seeing people who overcame poverty and hardships to achieve great things. As a result, they – my peers – were more susceptible to giving up on their dreams when things got difficult.
Remember that there are going to be obstacles on your route to achieving your dreams and maximising your potential, whether it is scaling your business, rising in the ranks of your company or winning an Olympic medal; having a strong sense of conviction that it is possible for you will fuel you to push through the difficulties.
Self-belief as a performance enhancer
Working with professional athletes and high performing individuals, I have seen both sides of the spectrum, and how belief affects our ability to execute on a plan, strategy or goal.
A lack of belief lends itself to doubt, performance anxiety and often poorer results. While research has shown that a strong sense of belief lends itself to greater confidence - increasing effort, selecting the appropriate strategies, as well regulating unwanted emotions.
This means that belief is more than just how you feel (the confidence in ability) but it influences how you think about and execute on our goals.
Consider high-performance environments like sport and business, where individuals with high self-belief tend to outperform their peers or competition who have a similar skill level but are lower on the self-belief spectrum. This is evident in sport, where those higher on the self-belief spectrum can indirectly plant doubt in the minds of their opponents thereby throwing them off their game plan.
Self-belief & influence
Self-belief is also a foundational characteristic of great leaders, where self-belief can be used a tool to influence and get the buy-in from others. As a leader it is necessary to have a high level of self-belief and conviction that the path chosen is the best one. Remember, humans gravitate towards those who exude self-belief and certainty in their decisions.
Take the following for example, imagine two candidates with comparable backgrounds and credentials are competing for a position. One exudes confidence and self-assurance, while the other appears tentative and unsure. More often than not, decision-makers are drawn to the candidate who exudes belief in their abilities.
So far we have discussed multiple reasons why self-belief is critical to your success, specifically the important role it plays in leadership, influence, enhancing performance and helping with our bounce-back ability. Next we will l explore one of the most common reasons people struggle with self-belief issues.
Self reference vs other reference
The mistake a lot of high achieving individuals make is basing their confidence and belief on what is known as ‘other referenced’. This is where you compare your achievements and results to others – basically rating yourself in comparison to others.
Though using others as a reference to determine where you are in relation to them can be important for your continuous development, it is not helpful in building self-belief and confidence.
Yet many high performers who have achieved significant success by most people’s standards find themselves struggling with low self-belief because they are relying too heavily on the ‘other reference’ strategy. In the corporate world this shows up as imposter syndrome, where individuals who recently got promoted start doubting whether they are capable of satisfying the duties of their new role, or they start to compare themselves to others in the room who might be more experienced. This can cause overthinking and anxiety, which can negatively impact their performance.
I have also seen how ‘other referencing’ has negatively impacted the performance of some brilliant athletes.
For example, I recently worked with an athlete who held multiple national records in two different countries, yet recently found himself in a performance slump. During our session I uncovered that he was suffering from performance anxiety as a result of relying too heavily on ‘other reference’. Basically, he was comparing himself to those who held world records – in his mind there are way better athletes than him. Though this might be objectively true at this stage of his career, this type of thinking was negatively impacting his performance and wasn’t helping him move closer towards the goal of breaking a world record.
The solution was to focus on self-referencing, which meant we recalled and reflect on his accomplishments and use this to build greater belief in his ability. As a result, he hit a new personal best only a few days later.
This is an example of the power self-belief can have on our performance. You too can develop greater self-belief that can fuel your performance and results through using the ‘self referencing’ strategy.
There are many other strategies that we can use to build a higher level of self-belief, but the self-reference strategy is a quick one to implement to easily move higher up on the self-belief spectrum.
Conclusion
In conclusion, self-belief is an essential component in maximizing our potential and achieving success. It encompasses the perceived ability to accomplish tasks and goals, and it plays a crucial role in building resilience, enhancing performance, and exerting influence over others.
I hope that this article encourages you to start developing a great sense of self-belief today.
Sources & Further readings
