Confidence

It is common to hear people say that performance is "90% mental, 10% physical" or "you can do anything you set your mind to". Well I think that both of these are exaggerations, but still, mental strength and confidence cannot be overlooked. In comparison to the mind, the body is relatively easy to train: to get stronger, squat; to get faster, sprint. But how does one train the mind? It may not be so obvious but the same tactics apply, countless repetitions of positive self-talk, and eliminating self-doubt should in theory help.
Confidence has always been something I have lacked when it comes to performance, I am constantly filled with self-doubt in my abilities and the self-talk that I give myself is almost always negative. When I do give myself positive self-talk it's usually "phony" and I don't really believe in it. "Performance is 90% mental, 10% physical", well, I think that a more accurate statement would be the reverse, 90% physical and 10% mental. Throughout the general preparation, specific conditioning and technical blocks of training it's all about putting the work in, preparing the body to jump farther or sprint faster. But in that final competition block the mind takes over. That's when it's time to believe that the months of work and effort have prepared you for optimal performance. It's a time for rest and a time for NOT over thinking. Then, on competition day that "10% mental" really takes over, negative thoughts promote negative results and positive thoughts promote positive results.
That's kind of where I am right now, a couple of days away from a competition, trying to stay positive and not doubt myself too much. But it's really hard not to let the negative thoughts creep in, some days I believe that I can jump 14.50m+ and other days I feel as though I haven't worked hard enough, more so, I haven't worked smart enough. I think that there's a lot to be said about taking a step away from track a couple days before a competition, that's what I'm going to do tomorrow on my off day--take a day to just do things that are enjoyable and not think about competing.