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The Injured Athletes Club


May 20, 2021

“So many of us seek out this idea that we want to feel confident all the time in whatever it is that we're doing—that if we feel confident, that means that we're never going to feel doubt. And that is just not true. That's why I like to talk about confidence as not something that you are, it's something that you do.” 

 

Fear, doubt, anxiety, worries about re-injury—these are all normal parts of the injured athlete experience. The antidote to all of them? Confidence. And while we often think of being confident as a binary trait—it’s something you are, or are not—that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, confidence is a set of skills that you can strengthen with time and intention, as co-host and mental skills coach Carrie Jackson explains in this week’s episode. We’ll talk through all the reasons your confidence may wane during the recovery process—and give you solid, clear ways to work on boosting it. (Just wanna get to the practical tips? Fast forward to 24:21.)

A huge thank you to our sponsors for this episode: Fluid Running and ProStretch. Fluid Running makes it possible to maintain your peak physical fitness even when you're injured through the power of deep water running. And ProStretch offers uniquely designed products to stretch and massage muscles easier and more effectively than conventional methods. Listen for special discount codes in the episode!

 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Why it matters so much to think of confidence as a mental skill rather than a trait you possess (2:34)
  • Why it’s natural for confidence to dip during injury recovery (4:32)
  • Why taking action helps us feel more confident—and some examples of empowering actions to take (10:56)
  • How it is TOTALLY NORMAL to feel anxiety and doubt during recovery (and why it’s so important to recognize the ubiquity of those emotions) (14:53)
  • Common times in the process when those emotions crop up (17:34)
  • The definition of self-efficacy, why this specific type of confidence is important for athletes, and three main sources of it (21:55)
  • The “Four-Step Confidence Boost” from p. 151 of Rebound (24:21)
  • The “Chart Your Confidence” exercise from p. 155 of Rebound (30:45)
  • Why support is so critical for confidence, and a teaser for a future episode on this topic (34:50)
  • How working on your confidence while injured pays off in your later performance—and the rest of your life (37:03)

 

You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.

 

Resources/links:



You can subscribe to The Injured Athletes Club on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or a review in Apple podcasts. That helps other injured athletes find the show.

 

To access more resources for injured athletes:

 

DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.