Tebow is case study in power of confidence

Posted by Justin Goldsborough | 3 comments

A few years ago at a leadership conference, I heard a story that has stuck with me to this day. The story went a little something like this…

I don’t remember the name of the guy who told the story. What I do remember is that before he was a professional speaker, he was a swim coach. A high school swim coach. And there was a girl on his team who was super-close to qualifying for the Olympics. But she couldn’t get her time down the necessary .5 seconds or so to make it happen.

The whole situation was rather frustrating for the teacher and the student, the speaker told us. She practiced like crazy, but couldn’t get improve her time. So one day, they tried something different. As she made the final turn and swam toward the finish, her coach and the entire team got up and stood by the edge of the pool. Then during her final turn, they started yelling and cheering like crazy; leaning down toward the pool so she could hopefully hear underwater.

It worked. She set a new record time. The next time she swam, they did it again. And she knocked another tenth off. The speaker’s message — The possibility behind her performance was all mental. Think about it like a science experiment. The only difference between this swim and her past swims was the loud cheering during her final lap. And that positive reinforcement was enough to make the difference. It may sound cliche and I see some of you rolling your eyes. But you can’t deny the results.

…..

I couldn’t stand Tim Tebow when he was at Florida. I thought he was a goody-goody and a fraud. A college PR machine that lacked any true transparency. But I am a huge Denver Broncos fan. Yes, a Broncos fan in Kansas City. My friends give me crap about it regularly .

This year, my impression of Tebow changed first and foremost because he became the starting quarterback of my favorite team. But it’s also changed, along with much of America, because of the improbable things happening on the field.

Our society is cynical. We make fun of self-help speakers and positive thinkiners. And when someone like Tebow comes along, he’s too good to be true, so their must be a crinkle in the sheets. With Tiger Woods it was his, well, you know. With Tebow, it’s his throwing motion. He’s just not the “typical” NFL quarterback.

People who say that are right. Tebow isn’t typical. But the reason he isn’t has nothing to do with how he throws a football. Tebow is atypical because he believes in himself more than 99 percent of us believe in ourselves. He has so much confidence he can do it, that it’s as if he wills it so. It doesn’t matter how it looks. Tebow never doubts the end result. Not even for a second. That is not normal. The majority of us fight doubt every day. I don’t think he knows the meaning of the word.

One of the most interesting aspects of Tebow-mania has been watching how his positivity effects those around him. Denver’s defense sucked at the start of this season. It was absolutely horrible. Since Tebow has taken over, it’s arguably the a top 3 defense in the league. And Tebow is a big reason why. The players have said as much. They feed off his enthusiasm and belief in what the team can accomplish. I know. Sounds totally sappy. But you’ve got professional athletes making millions of dollars buying in. So there must be something going on.

What we see Tebow doing on the field seems like a miracle — Insert your Tebow religious joke here. But what we call a miracle is simply Tebow’s confidence in everything he does. He makes believers out of the people around him. He’s made a believer out of me. Denver plays New England this Sunday and everything in my head tells me the Broncos should lose.

But I know Tebow believes they will win. And I dare myself, and you, to bet against him.

How do you build confidence in yourself? Has doubt ever effected your performance? Do you know anyone who exudes confidence in everything he/she does?