A Confident Mind

My Score: 9/10

Key Area's Covered: Confidence and Race preparation

TLDR: Cracking book on confidence and how to build it with lots of practical applications to lots of sports. Can be used by all abilities for a better mindset and to improve race day performance. 

The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance by Dr. Nate Zinsser - A Review

Pros:

• Actionable insights: Dr. Zinsser's background working with high-performance individuals in the military and sports world shines through. The book is packed with practical exercises, tools, and techniques that readers can readily apply to their own lives, regardless of their field or background.
• Easy to relisten / read to. I have the book on audio and paper and have been through it multiple times to pick up  extra info and actions to take. 
• Science-backed foundation: The book is grounded in research on psychology, neuroscience, and physiology, providing a credible and solid foundation for the presented methods. Zinsser does a good job of translating complex scientific concepts into clear and understandable language.
• Holistic approach: The book goes beyond traditional self-help, addressing physical, mental, and emotional aspects of confidence. 
• Motivational and encouraging: Zinsser's writing style is engaging and encouraging. He shares inspiring stories of individuals who have overcome challenges and achieved success through building their confidence. This positive and optimistic tone makes the book a real pleasure to read.
• Diverse applications: The book's principles are relevant to a wide range of situations, from job interviews and presentations to athletic performance and everyday interactions. Readers are likely to find valuable takeaways regardless of their specific goals.

Cons:

• Repetitive at times: Some of the exercises and concepts are repeated throughout the book, which can feel redundant for attentive readers.
• Some bits don't come across great in the Audiobook, there can be sections where the narrator is saying something something pause.... something something pause. This really doesn't work for me. 
• Limited depth on certain topics: While the book touches on many aspects of confidence, some readers might wish for a deeper dive into specific areas, such as managing negative self-talk or dealing with performance anxiety. However you can find links to additional resources. 

Overall:

"The Confident Mind" is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their confidence and performance. Dr. Zinsser's practical, science-backed approach offers a roadmap for developing unshakeable self-belief in any area of life. While some repetitive aspects might frustrate some they help cement the ideas being discussed. Limited depth in certain areas could be improved but you are often sign posted to other resources, all in al the book's actionable insights, motivating tone, and broad applicability make it well worth a read.

Recommendation: Highly recommended for individuals seeking practical guidance on building confidence and improving performance in any aspect of life. This book is particularly relevant for athletes and anyone facing challenges with self-doubt and anxiety which in my experience is most runners.

My personal take aways:

I have adopted quite a few changes to my mental training as a result of this books, these include.

Trying to build a mental bank account - Whenever I am doing something running related I take note of it. Really this is what the whole concept of the book is about so is really covered by the below.

Affirmations - Have many, all positive affirmations. They should be I am statements. I repeat them regularly, write them down, look at them and hear them.

Journal - I journal my non running things. I have a green tick for each task for everyday, it both keeps my responsible and keeps me positive.

Take the positive - If you have a tough session, you still did the session. Focus on the reps / things that went well rather than lamenting on the ones that went wrong. Easier said than done but if needed say it out loud. Rep 2 was amazing, I flew up that hill! Rather than rep 3 sucked is much better, say it on your cool down and think it is the shower afterwards etc I am sure there are more but these are the ones that come to mind.

All in all I have seen a marked improvement in my running performance since I started applying these principles, I don't think it is the only reason but I do really think it has helped a lot and I have noticed my self using affirmations and having more self belief on my runs. I have certainly noticed that one days the weather is awful at parkrun I am the one at the start line that is positive and embracing the conditions rather than complaining!