Believing in Ourselves

by Coach Steve Frasier, Olympic Champion

Believing in ourselves is very important in our quest for athletic glory...

Believing in ourselves is very important in our quest for athletic glory. Believing will help us to get through rough times and difficult situations. Don't get me wrong, we all have doubts about ourselves at times. This is natural. However, we must understand that "believing" plays a vital role in our performance and advancement.

My favorite example of someone who had a strong belief in their self was Mohammed Ali in the 1974 World Heavyweight Boxing Championship, "Rumble in the Jungle." Ali was challenging George Foreman, who was the reigning World Champion. Foreman was crushing all of his opponents. He knocked out most of all of the top contenders prior to this big event in Zaire, Africa. No one thought that Ali could beat Foreman. In fact, even Ali's own trainers and coaches thought that Ali was going to get destroyed against the seemingly unstoppable Foreman.

As described in the documentary, "When We Were Kings," before the fight, Ali's dressing room was like a morgue. It was like Ali was going to his "last supper." At one point Ali noticed that everyone was down and sad. Ali turned and said, "What is the matter with you people? Why is everybody so unhappy?"

They, his support team, believed that Ali was going to be defeated. And, they were terrified. They thought with his pride that he would take one of the world's worst beatings ever and he would not give up. They thought that Ali would be destroyed in the ring. They thought he would possibly be killed. They were deeply frightened.

Then Ali looked to Drew "Bundini Brown (Ali's trainer) and said, "We're gonna dance, we're gonna dance and dance!" Then he turned to them and said, "What are we gonna do?" And they said, "Your gonna dance, you