Have you ever played the game “Whack-A-Mole” at an arcade? 

That's the exact image that comes to mind when I’m talking to parents, coaches, and athletes about common struggles that they are having while trying to compete and achieve peak performance in their sports!

Most want a quick-fix to what’s going on. Make it go away! And when we do find the “fix,” it usually only works temporarily. The real issue is deeper. 

In this episode, we talk about the 3 most common symptoms of low confidence and their underlying root causes:

Common Symptom #1: Inability to Come Back From Mistakes

This is probably one of the most common symptoms of confidence that athletes, coaches, and parents report. 

Athletes make one mistake and their confidence is rocked. Pretty soon, they are making more and more mistakes and can’t seem to “get out of their own head.”

We teach tools that can be very useful in this situation (for example we use a tool called the Mistake Ritual in our programs!)

However, the tool is only effective if the deeper work has been done to address the underlying cause of this symptom - we'll talk about this!

Common Symptom #2: Falling Apart Under Pressure

This symptom comes in two main forms:

- Playing well in practice or training, but not competing to potential in a match. 

- Or “choking” when the stakes are high. 

Both of these symptoms are common, and often athletes want quick fixes to help them suddenly perform well. There are tools and strategies available to help. 

However, falling apart under pressure is usually a symptom of underlying confidence issues. We'll get into what these are.

Common Symptom #3: Not Playing To Potential

This common struggle among athletes is a general feeling that they are not playing how they could be or "should" be. 

This is a symptom of a deeper confidence issue as well, and we'll get into it.

Treat the Cause, Not Just the Symptoms

Spiraling after mistakes, folding under pressure, and not playing to potential are three of the most common struggles among female athletes. 

Most athletes, parents, and coaches want simple tools and strategies to fix these things. 

And there are plenty to go around. However, they will always be a bandaid masking deeper confidence issues. We work on the tools and building that deeper confidence here in The Elite Competitor!

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Helpful Links:

• Join the Building #RealConfidence FREE 5 Day Challenge for Moms of Female Athletes
• Visit our podcast website for more on this episode
• Download the free resources we've created for you
• Join us inside our FREE Facebook Group - The Elite Competitor Society - for weekly Q&A, periodic trainings and challenges, and the support of an amazing community of moms, coaches, and the men who partner with us!

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