World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov on How to Build Confidence

This study shows that simply by becoming your own hype team you can dramatically impact your own productivity. In the years since I read it, I’ve come up with a few specific ways you can do so. My favourite method involves what I call ‘flipping the confidence switch’; in other words, challenging yourself to behave as if you’re confident in your tas

the Alter Ego Effect is something you inherently already know how to do. What if I asked you, what would Batman do? Or Ellen DeGeneres? Or James Bond? You’d automatically know how to play with the idea.

One enjoyable way to shift expectations involves acting as if you already have the courage, love, and wisdom you desire; by looking the part, dressing the part, speaking the part, and acting the part, you can begin to manifest these qualities. 1. When you want to have, achieve, or become

There was an almost mystical correlation between work and achievement, with no direct tie between them. Perhaps I was benefiting from the chess equivalent of the placebo effect. Going into battle with what I believed were lethal weapons gave me confidence even though they went largely unused and wouldn’t in some cases have been effective.

One effective strategy is acting as if.