Self Belief

What kind of self belief does it take to win the Australian final and defeat Rafa in 5 sets? Most of us lack the self-belief of champions. As competitors we are all told, "It is crucially important to believe in yourself." Our coaches tell us that the great players believe in themselves, and this is what carries them past obstacles to victory in major championships. We've recently been treated to an amazing example of self belief on the part of two great champions, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a marathon final at the 2012 Australian Open. We are admonished that unless we believe in ourselves in the same way as these champions, all of our work may come to naught. Victory will remain elusive. Worst of all, we fear that if we don't believe in ourselves we have the dreaded "loser's mentality." So we search the recesses of our hearts for that vital conviction. As we walk on court to face a highly-ranked and fearsome opponent we search for self-belief and are diminished when we come up empty! Despite our efforts, we simply can't bring ourselves to presume, with ample certainty, that we are going to win. We have...