ThinkWell

for
Health and Performance

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Training

Why?
Self-Belief-Certainties of High Performance-Goals
Self-Appraisal

Jerry Fox, 2023

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High Performance “is a level playing field until PRESSURE emerges
and those who ‘walk towards it’ and have a ‘skillset’ that enables them
to navigate the inevitable obstacles that populate this terrain, will
ultimately prevail and be rightfully crowned CHAMPIONS.”-Gilbert
Enoka (All Blacks)

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Intention of this Activity Based Introduction

At this point, you would have received your ThinkWell for Health & Performance
(Mindfulness Based Cognitive Training) Handbook which outlines the intentions,
purpose, and safety issues of the programme.

Before you meet your programme trainer for the Orientation Session, please read
through this activity based introduction and write down any reflections.

The activity captures the key targets and processes which we will be working on
during the programme.

We will now explore Self-Belief, Four Certainties of Performance, Goals, and Self-
Appraisal.

Self-Appraisal basically means how we think about our experiences and how we Self-
Appraise, effects our level of Self-Belief. Self-Belief is generally referred to as
confidence.

1.Self-Belief
Give This a Go!

Questionnaire: Reflect on the following questions related to Self-Belief in your

performance area and score each question as follows:

• score 1 if the question is not true at all.

• score 2 if the question is hardly true.
• score 3 if the question is moderately true.
• score 4 if the question is exactly true.

1. I can always manage to solve difficult problems if I try hard enough

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2. If someone opposes me, I can find skilful means and ways to approach my target.

3. It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals.

4. I am confident that I could deal efficiently with unexpected events.

5. Thanks to my resourcefulness, I know how to handle unforeseen situations.

6. I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.

7. I can remain calm when facing difficulties because I can rely on my performance
based skills and coping abilities.

8. When I am confronted with a problem, I can usually find several solutions.

9. If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution

10. I can usually handle whatever comes my way.

The total score is calculated by adding up what you scored for each question. The
total score ranges between 10 and 40, with a higher score indicating higher levels of
Self-Belief.

However, it does not matter whether you scored high or low, because now we know
what needs working on. Either establishing, strengthening, or maintaining your level
of Self-Belief. Or what is often found for high performers all three, because our levels
of Self-Belief do not remain the same, they are not static. Sometimes our Self-Belief
is higher and at other times it’s lower. This programme aims to support performers to
build skills to establish greater consistency and balance with levels of Self-Belief.

What we Know about Self-Belief and What it is?

Research shows the essential ingredient in steering us through high pressure or

complex situations, is Self-Belief.

In every day speak, Self-Belief is often referred to as confidence.

Self-Belief refers to an individual's belief in his or her capacity to execute

behaviours necessary to produce specific performance attainments. Self-Belief
reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one's own motivation,
behaviour, and social environment.

Self-Belief is having the belief you can master your environment and effectively
solve problems as they arise.

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People with high levels of Self-Belief stay committed to solving their problems,
don’t give up when their original solution didn’t work and seek new solutions and
persist until they find a workable solution to the challenge or obstacle.

Self-Belief is a trainable skill for us all!

When we train the mind, it’s like strengthening a mental muscle. It is a similar
process to your strength and conditioning, technical and tactical training, they all
need time and a deliberate progressive approach.

Training the cognitive process of Self-Belief requires effort, careful planning,

persistence, choosing the right strategies, deliberate practice and learning
how to deal with the inevitable obstacles need time and a deliberate
progressive approach.

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2. A Healthy Understanding & the Four Certainties of High
Performance

Please read a Healthy Understanding and the Four Certainties of High

Performance, and then reflect on the question at the bottom of the page.

A Healthy Understanding

When we start to engage with any kind of training, it is important to understand

why!

We all know High Performance is a level playing field, until we

experience pressure.

Depending on our level of understanding, insight, physiological and

psychological skills, which determines our perception of pressure, we will either
respond or react to the demand:

• When we respond to pressure, we perceive the pressure as a challenge,

which increases our capacity to objectively appraise it, allowing effective
decisions to be made, increasing our belief in the possibility of accessing our
full range of skills to approach the demand.

• When we react to pressure, we perceive the pressure as a threat,

decreasing our capacity to objectively appraise it, leading to less effective
decisions, less belief in the possibility of accessing our full range of skills and
increasing the vulnerability to thoughts of wanting to avoid the demand.

Being able to understand what we are inevitably going to encounter as a high

performer is crucial for our continuous efforts towards the cycle of preparation,
learning, adaptation, and skills execution in competitive environments. This
willingness to engage in such a training will equip us to respond the best we can to
the ever changing world of High Performance.

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Four Certainties of High Performance

1. Pressure in High Performance is inevitable

2. How we perceive or think, feel, and relate to pressure determines our

performance

3. You can choose how to perceive pressure (or how to think, feel and
relate to it)

4. How you choose to perceive pressure depends on your level of Self-

Belief (low or high). Self-Belief is the essential ingredient to steer us
through when navigating pressure environments. Self-Belief is a
trainable skill

Question:

1. When you contemplate a Healthy Understanding and the Four Certainties

of High Performance, how does this relate to your experience?

We will explore Self-Belief further after Question 3.

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3. Contemplation of the Two Goal Orientations & Research

Simply reflect on the 2 goal orientations offered below and ask yourself
the following questions:

A) When you are pursuing a goal, how do you think about it?

B) Which one of the following two goal orientations is the dominate source of
your motivation when pursing a goal?

Note: The difference between the thinking styles of the two goal orientations
may appear quite subtle (or ultra-fine).

Be Good and Get Better Goals

According to award-winning social psychologist Heidi Grant-Halverson (9

Things Successful People Do Differently) there are two ways we may
approach goals, through a Be Good or Get Better perspective.

Be Good Goal

When thinking about doing well with a goal from the perspective of a Be
Good Goal it means:

Proving to myself and others I’m good…proving that I’m smart… proving I’m
effective…proving I’m talented and an expert…proving I have what it takes to
others and myself.

Get Better Goal

When thinking about doing well with a goal from the perspective of a
Get Better Goal it means:

Improving myself...becoming smarter…becoming more effective…becoming

more talented and expert…becoming what it takes.

After reading and reflecting on the Question of Goals (A +B above), read

Research Based Contemplation (below) and then ask yourself the questions
at the bottom of this page. Notice any reflections you may have, if any.

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Research Based Contemplation:

Research from ‘hundreds of studies’ (Heidi Grant-Halverson) has shown that

when pursuing a goal, making the mental switch from a Proving, Be Good
Goal to a Becoming, Get Better perspective orientated goal is incredibly
powerful.

It’s not just a change in language but a change in thinking. This results in the
person becoming more intrinsically motivated (when we are moved to act
for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external pressures, or
rewards) facilitating:

o Better engagement with the goal

o Greater interest
o Greater persistent in the face of difficulty
o Decrease in questioning your ability which often leads to self-doubt.
For example, ‘Maybe I don’t have what it takes…I’m not smart
enough…I’m not creative enough…I don’t have this ability that I’m
trying to prove I have’
o An increase in responsiveness to setbacks and when things don’t go
so well. Setbacks are used as information to work out where you need
to improve and how to plan deliberate practice for improving
o Greater capacity to ‘bounce back’ from setbacks or adversity
o An increase in the available skills to disengage the mind from thinking
or dwelling on the past or thinking negatively about the future. This
creates the mental space to reset and respond to the ‘next play’ fully in
the present moment
o A capacity to handle obstacles with grace (with balance, control)
o Greater enjoyment
o Higher levels of Self-Belief

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Ask yourself:

1.What’s my own experience of how I view the pursuit of a goal-Be Good or

Getting Better? Or was it a mixture of both?

2. What effect did this have-helpful or unhelpful?

Experiment Now!

If following your reflections, you evaluate that it may be helpful to strengthen

the Getting Better perspective towards goals, then before the programme
commences consider using the Triggers Words below.

These Trigger Words may be introduced when you think, plan, or speak
about training and competition. Simply include these words in conversations,
discussions and when planning:

• Improve
• Develop
• Progress
• Grow
• Become

Keep in mind this approach requires effort, careful planning, persistence

(don’t give up when faced with difficulty), choosing the right strategies,
deliberate practice (of the necessary skills & knowledge) and learning how
to deal with obstacles-applying these skills allows change to be always
possible!

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4.Bit of Theory: How Self-Belief is Constructed through the
Process of Self-Appraisal

Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great
your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work-Jack
Nicklaus

Confidence is the most important thing in this sport-Rafael Nadal

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Self-awareness is the first step towards learning and growth in all fields of
high performance. So, let’s reflect on the question on page 12, after reading
through this section on Self-Belief and Self-Appraisal.

Self-Belief (S-B), generally referred to as confidence and has been proposed as a

cognitive explanation for differences in the abilities of people, teams, and
organizational leaders to carry out challenging tasks.

Self-Belief is built on an appraisal around one’s capabilities and the ability to

organise and accomplish certain behaviours or actions to deliver likely
accomplishments.

Self-Belief is one of the most influential psychological constructs mediating

achievement striving in sport.

Self-Belief is not a trait people are born with, but an ability which we can all build,
maintain and strengthen (through training our attention, awareness, attitude, and
action on the FACT programme).

The training or working with our Self-Belief requires effort, careful planning,
persistence, choosing the right strategies and learning how to deal with
obstacles.

Our level of Self-Belief is strengthened or undermined by how we think or

appraise an experience with a specific task. This is called Self-Appraisal and is the
crucial process which determines whether we have higher or lower levels Self-Belief.

Self-Belief is determined by the Self-Appraisal of the following four domains:

1. Past performance

2. Verbal persuasion or feedback from others

3. Observing & comparing ourselves to others

4. Observing what’s going on in our own body (physiologically) and mind

(thoughts)

If our Self-Appraisal of the four domains (past performance, verbal persuasion, or

feedback from others, observing and comparing ourselves to others and observing
what’s going on in our own body and mind) is more negative and unconstrained by
reality (subjective evidence), then our Self-Belief levels will be lower. If our Self-
Appraisal is more positive and constrained by reality (objective and evidence
based), then our Self-Belief levels will be higher.

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Typical Process of Negative Self-Appraisal (Less Constrained by Reality)

If our Self-Appraisal of a specific event or performance (at pre, during and post)
is negative, influenced by emotions, over-personalised or over-identified with
(‘I’m defined by my sport. I am my results’), the Appraisal will be less constrained
by reality. This then generates a training and performance cycle that limits our
capacity to:

o engage objectively with the actual event or experience as it’s happening

o to reflect objectively on the experience following the event
o to learn from the experience
o to try out, test and adapt what we have learnt from the experience

Negative Self-Appraisal restricts our perspective and engagement at pre, during and
post-performance, because our capacity for decision making and reflection is
affected by the tendency to monitor how we think things are and compare them with
how we think things should be’ (Feldman & Kuyken, 2019). This appraisal style of
comparing how our actual experience is, with how we think it should be, how we’d
like to be, how it was in the past, and so on, is referred to as discrepancy thinking.

On one level, there is nothing inherently wrong with this mode of mind that seeks to
make comparisons and find solutions to an intended goal in the external world, like
making a meal or planning a training timetable. ‘The basic strategy to achieve such
goals involves the discrepancy monitor. We monitor progress to see whether the
gap is increasing or decreasing and adjust our actions accordingly. We know we
have reached our goal when our idea of how things are coincides with our idea of
how we want them to be’ (Segal, Williams & Teasdale, 2012). So, this approach
often referred to as the doing mode is very effective when working towards, solving,
and achieving impersonal and external goals. However, if we apply this approach
when we are working with our personal and internal worlds of thoughts and
feelings, which influence the cognitive appraisal process of Self-Belief, ‘it can
all go terribly wrong’ (Segal, Williams & Teasdale, 2012).

The doing mode is a very effective problem solving strategy, especially when
applied to impersonal and external goals. But once the self becomes involved,
any attempt through the doing mode to find solutions to reduce the discrepancy gap
between how we think things are and how we think things should be, just leads the
mind into going round and round, dwelling, judging, basically, ruminating.

Rumination is a way of trying to think ourselves out of a problem, like, difficult

emotions following an error, or not wanting to feel the emotions after a defeat or
thinking, I will never have the skills to complete the course or thinking I will never be
strong or smart enough to compete. But rumination tends to intensify the very
thoughts, feelings, body sensations and behaviours that we are looking to resolve.

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When we attempt to fix the perceived personal and internal effects of
performance through a doing mode of mind, any felt negative states tend to
intensify through a feedback loop of:

o thoughts (e.g., Why does this always happen to me? I’m never going
to succeed.)

o feelings (e.g., worry, disappointment, despondent)

o body sensations (e.g., shaky, tired, tense).

What we think, affects emotions, the emotions affect the body, the body effects the
thinking, and this effects our behaviour. How we then behave effects our thoughts,
feelings, and body sensations. As you can see, thoughts, feelings, body
sensations and behaviour are all interrelated.

Self-critical and self-judgemental thoughts associated with rumination, intensify

negative thinking, feelings, body sensations and behaviour through a
feedback loop. This may lead to difficulties in managing our emotions pre, during
and at post-performance, causing a general decrease in our levels of motivation.

This state of mind body restricts our cognitive capacity to Self-Appraise and to
process the reality of the situation or event in the present moment. This
compromises our decision making, leaving it difficult to know what is required as the
best response in the situation. It limits are potential to learn and adapt from our
experiences.

Self-Belief will be undermined due to this less constrained by reality

perception. This will result in lower levels of Self-Belief due to negative Self-
Appraisals, increasing the risk of us perceiving events as a threat, reducing our
performance potential, and repeating a similar pattern of reactivity in the
future.

Examples of negative Self-Appraisal: ‘It’s not as perfect as I think it

should be ...I should be better and this is a reflection on who I am as a
person, I simply not good enough…I don’t think I have the ability…I’m not
as strong as them…I’m a failure…Why does this happen to me…Why does
this keep happening to me… I’m defined by my result...I am my results…this
is who I am…I will never reach my ideal…I must try harder.

The type of questions we may ask ourselves when the Self-Appraisal of the
four domains (past performance, verbal persuasion, or feedback from others,
observing and comparing ourselves to others and observing what’s going on in our
own body and mind) is less constrained by reality and more personalised and
negative:

Why me?
Why do I feel and think like this

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Why does this happen to me?
Why can’t I remember anything that’s gone well
Why can’t I get going or just get it right like in training?
What does this mean?
What are the consequences of this?
What have I done to deserve this?
What will others think of me?
Why does this keep happening to me
Why do I feel and think like this

It is worth mentioning that these thoughs are simply attempts to find solutions to a
problem, difficulty or when we have got stuck and it can occur subconsciously and
automatically.

Typical Process of Reality Based (Positive) Self-Appraisal

If our Self-Appraisal of a specific event or performance (at pre, during and post)
is more reality based, less influenced by emotions, non-personalised or non-
identified with (‘I’m not defined by my sport. I am not my results’), the Appraisal
will be constrained by reality. This then generates a training and performance
cycle that expands our capacity to:

o engage objectively with the actual event or experience as it’s happening

o to reflect objectively on the experience following the event
o to learn from the experience
o to try out, test and adapt what we have learnt from the experience

Positive reality based Self-Appraisal at pre, during and post-performance gives

the choice to perceive our experience as it exists or with greater clarity, whether
we are winning, losing, making progress, or experiencing errors during
engagement-it’s all data!

Through a reality based Self-Appraisal view we can detect any triggers, early signs
of negative thoughts and emotions and provide a capacity to decide how best to
respond skilfully. For example: decentering from the thoughts (stepping back from
them), not trying to fix or resolve them, not taking them personally or believing them
to be facts but accepting them for what they are, basically, just thoughts, which are
passing events of the mind.

An increase in our scope to act skilfully when under pressure, brings greater
consistency and leads to an increased frequency in positive reality based Self-
Appraisal. This process enables an acknowledgement and perspective of where we
are now and how we may approach learning, strengthening, and adaptation by
deliberate practice-improving, and maintaining an alignment with our goals, purpose,
and values. This may lead to an increased capacity to regulate our emotions pre,
during and at post-performance, with a general increase in our levels of motivation.

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This reality based approach to Self-Appraisal, requires effort, careful planning,
persistence, choosing the right strategies and learning how to deal with
obstacles.

When we practice these skills, the level of Self-Belief will be higher and we will be
better able to maintain a balance, increasing the potential of us perceiving events
as a challenge, responding to what is required and increasing our performance
potential.

Examples of reality based positive Self-Appraisal: ‘I notice feelings of

disappointment now but what can I learn from this setback… how may I
learn to be more effective…how may I become smarter or become more
expert in working with these obstacle when they arise… what or who may
support me becoming more adaptive…it’s in my control to become more
skilful at perceiving these experiences as events that will pass…I know
the results don’t define who I am... I will grow, adapt, and become stronger
through deliberate training.’

The type of questions we ask ourselves when the Self-Appraisal of the four
domains (past performance, verbal persuasion, or feedback from others, observing
and comparing ourselves to others and observing what’s going on in our own body
and mind) is positively constrained by reality, supporting disengagement from
over personalised negative thinking, helping us to regulate our emotions,
which facilitates a perception of pressure as a challenge to test our skills,
encouraging us to consistently approach these situations to learn and adapt
are as follows:

How did this happen?

How was it that this didn’t work today?
What did I notice?
What is the sequence of events leading to this point?
How can I understand this?
What may be the most skilful response now?
What small thing can I remember that has helped before?
When would be the best time for me reflect on this experience
How can I approach it and do something about this?
What went well and what needs working on?
How can I decide what to do next?

The programme trains you through attention, awareness, attitude, and action
based practices and exercises in how to spot the triggers and conditions that activate
negative states of mind and how we may decentre or disengage from the patterns of
negative over thinking, which will allow and facilitate a shift in thinking towards the
more reality and responsive based thinking styles.

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Questions: What specific moments and types of experience have you noticed
effect your levels of Self-Belief? Is it possible to reflect on examples of both high
and low levels of Self-Belief and the effects on performance and recovery? Has
there been a time where you spotted low levels of Self-Belief and you were able to
rebalance and shift the appraisal to more positive reality based Self-Appraisal-a
higher level of Self-Belief.

Recommended Reading
We highly recommend in supporting your mental performance & mindset
training, High Performance by Jake Humphrey and Prof. Damian
Hughes, we.

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Further Notes:

Self-Belief Questions: Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized Self-Efficacy scale. In J.
Weinman, S. Wright, & M. Johnston, Measures in health psychology: A user’s portfolio. Causal and
control beliefs

Getting Better Goal- Related to intrinsic motivation. Getting Better Goal orientation is constrained
by reality-based appraisals with increased Higher Executive brain Functioning involvement including
proficiency in adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control, working memory, time
management, and organization. Related to higher levels of Self-Belief.

Be Good Goal- Related to extrinsic motivation.

Be Good Goal orientation is less constrained by reality-based appraisals with increased activity of the
brain’s Default Mode linked to self-referential thinking, including automatic mind-wandering closely
connected with negative states of mind and usually involves thinking about others, thinking about
oneself, remembering the past, and envisioning the future rather than the task being performed.
Related to lower levels of Self-Belief.

Increased dominance of an extrinsic motivation widens the discrepancy thinking gap with Ideal and
Shoulds/Oughts which are thought based self-guides.

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