By Paddy Upton
When it comes to performance, one word that’s thrown around more than most is confidence.
You hear it in every changing room, every pre-match team talk, every boardroom before a big pitch.
You need to be confident. Build your confidence. Go in with confidence.
But where, exactly, does confidence come from?
Some people get theirs from results. They win a few games, land a few clients, or hit a few sixes, and suddenly feel invincible. It’s a tempting source, but it doesn’t last. One off-day and that confidence starts to wobble.
Others rely on external validation — a coach, a boss, a friend, a parent — someone reminding them how good they are. Useful, sure. But what happens the moment that praise stops? Or worse, when the criticism kicks in?
That confidence? It wilts, even disappears.
The confidence that holds its ground — the kind that walks into a moment with presence, that doesn’t crumble under pressure — has a different origin story.
It’s built long before the performance.
It’s built during preparation.
Think about it like this: you’re walking into an exam. One version of you skimmed a few notes, pulled an all-nighter, and hoped for the best. The other version studied the whole book — the diagrams, the details, the fine print. Which version of you walks in feeling a genuine confidence?
It’s the same with performance — in sport, in business, on stage, in life.
The athletes who show up confident, the leaders who command a room without needing to force it, the players who seem unshakeable when it matters most — more often than not, their confidence was earned in the weeks leading up to the event. When no one was watching. When it was just them, the plan, and the daily discipline.
Preparation doesn’t guarantee success. But it gives you the best possible chance.
And it gives you something better than hope: grounded confidence.
The kind that doesn’t waver after a slow start.
The kind that doesn’t depend on applause.
The kind that travels with you, no matter what the scoreboard says.
Because when you’ve prepared properly, you don’t need to convince yourself you’re ready.
You just know.
And that knowing — that quiet certainty — is what real confidence feels like.
And the really good news… is that building deep confidence is available to everyone – it’s does not require special talent – just the DECISION to prepare well, and the APPLICATION to follow through.
Well said paddy
Loved this!!