Competence and Trust

Competence and Trust

Do you know what is being asked of you and are you able to do it? Competence is a self-perceived measure of a person’s ability to understand the objective of a task and her/his ability to complete the given task. Intensity and competition in sports increase as athletes continuously test out their perceived competence with each other. When an athlete succeeds over the opponent, the belief in her/his level of competence increases. However, it is not uncommon for an athlete’s belief in her/his level of competence to decrease when she/he feels that he/shehas “failed” against their competition. So, what is needed for an athlete to continue to perform with enthusiasm even after the perceived “failure”? Trust!

Trust differs from belief because it offers reliability and stability, while belief offers hope on a spectrum that fluctuates from high to low. Trust provides the reliability to know that one will consistently produce results and it allows the freedom to continue on in spite of any disappointments. Trusting in one’s ability allows the athlete to understand that even in disappointing times, there is purpose and opportunity to get better. In other words, the disappointment can be perceived as an increase of knowledge and understanding that will lead the athlete to increase competence. It is a redirection to the path he/she needs to be on in order to accomplish her/his goals. Trusting offers a sense of reliabilityt and stability, while believing offers hope on a spectrum that has potential to be high or low. When you can trust yourself, you no longer have to second guess yourself, over- analyzing technique, take a long time to make a decision, hesitate when taking healthy risks, or dwelling on past mistakes. 

You have come this far in athletics and have been able to excel in athletics because you are competent in the following skills (name three skills related to your sport that you are good at).

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Exercises to help increase your ability to trust yourself and your skills

Becoming Comfortably Uncomfortable

Do a drill that you know you will succeed and as your success becomes consistent, progressively modify the drill so that it becomes more challenging. If you are able to do the more challenging versions of the drill without hesitation, you are trusting yourself and your abilities.
By Jeanette Pettigrew

Self-talk Affirmations

Come up with cue words or phrases that remind you of how good you are, whenever you feel uncomfortable about a task (work ethic, speed, strategy, power, problem solving, technique, etc….).