Self-acceptance helps protect against mental illness, yet many people struggle to fully accept who they are. My experience as a psychologist shows how this basic element of psychological health touches almost every area of our lives. Self-acceptance means completely accepting yourself - both strengths and weaknesses - without judgment. But people often misunderstand what unconditional self-acceptance really means. The main difference from self-esteem is that self-acceptance s

The blog ahead walks you through evidence-based strategies for developing that confidence, grounded in science and the applied reality of athletic performance. Understanding Self-Confidence in Sports What Athlete Confidence Really Means Self-confidence in sports refers to the belief that one can perform the actions necessary to overcome difficult situations and succeed; it is not, importantly, the same as general self-assurance. Athlete confidence represents a specific belief

At one stage or another, we feel the self-conscious emotions of shame and guilt inside our heads. Shame and guilt are self-conscious emotions. Guilt and depression go hand in hand, but when we remove shame from the equation, we see that relationship disappear almost entirely between guilt and depression. We know that guilt and shame are negative evaluations of ourselves and fall into the category of self-conscious emotions. When we think about guilt on the pitch, we might fee