"Confidence is the most important single factor in this game, and no matter how great your natural talent, there is only one way to obtain and sustain it: work." -- Jack Nicklaus

I watched the figure skating competition broadcasts during the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The commentators kept referring to the importance of confidence in being able to land the jumps. If a skater was confident, and didn't think too much, the jumps happened naturally as a result of preparation. The skaters had landed the jumps thousands of times in practice so they knew how to do it. Muscle memory means you have done something often enough that the neural pathways for that action have been firmly established. One step in a sequence quickly and automatically leads to the next step in the sequence. It happens faster than you are capable of doing by conscious thought. If you hesitate in any way due to a lack of confidence that causes a detour in the pathway and you fail. I noticed that when a skater made one mistake, they frequently made others because their confidence was shaken.

In one of my comedy routines I extend my left arm straight up in the air and then flip a spinning plate from my right hand up to my left hand. I am looking to my right when it happens so I do not see the plate's trajectory. I have to catch it by muscle memory. Before I performed in a variety show earlier this year I stood backstage and flipped the plate up to my hand fifty times in a row without a miss. When it was time to do the trick on stage I was confident that I could do it, and I caught it perfectly.

This past weekend, I was performing at a Cub Scout Pack Blue and Gold Banquet. Just as I flipped the plate I thought, "I hope that I catch it." That thought was just enough of a hesitation that it changed the way I threw the plate. It didn't go quite high enough. I felt it hit my hand, but it had already started to fall before I could close my hand. I missed it and it hit the floor with a loud clatter.

I let that mistake shake my confidence. When I started my three-ball juggling routine, I dropped right away. I resumed juggling, and had a couple of more drops before I finished the routine. I wasn't doing my most difficult tricks when I dropped. I can do those tricks easily. However, being nervous about dropping, made it happen. When I got to my four-ball routine I dropped again.

I switched to a magic act that is very easy to perform. That restored my confidence. When I performed my three-club juggling later in the show I was not real smooth, but I didn't drop.

At the end of my act I was going to do a routine where I spin a plate on a mouth stick that I hold between my teeth while juggling three clubs. I juggle around my back. When the weather is nice enough I have been practicing juggling clubs this fall and winter. Just before I began that routine, I reminded myself that I can do it easily because of my preparation. I took a deep breath, exhaled, and picked up my props. I performed that routine flawlessly.

So, what do I need to do? First, I need to return to a regular juggling practice schedule. I don't need to learn how to do the tricks because I can do them. What I have to do is perform them often enough to rebuild my confidence that I can perform them.

Another thing I am doing is scheduling a series of volunteer performances at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. That is a venue where I feel little pressure. I have performed their often enough over the years that I feel comfortable there, and I know the audience there is very receptive. I can relax there. I know that succeeding in performances there will boost my confidence. That confidence will allow me to succeed in venues where I am more nervous.

How confident are you that you can perform successfully? Where can boost your confidence by performing in low pressure settings that will insure your success? What work do you need to do to maintain your confidence?