Its definition is integral to success in any endeavour.
And for good reason.
Confidence, after all, is key.
It certainly was something the Flames were happy to talk about after they snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Flyers in Philly Saturday afternoon.
Getting changed after their morning skate at the PPG Paints Arena prior to tonight's tilt with the Penguins, the players were feeling it.
"Ya, it's crazy," said Dillon Dube. "When you're in a little rut like that, it feels like there's no daylight. Then you get that one win and it feels like it just completely breaks open. You almost get more confidence from that.
"When you go through something and you struggle through it, you know that sticking with it paid off and it gives you a lot more confidence. It's an easy word that gets throw around a lot but it's probably the biggest thing in hockey for an individual and a team."
With confidence comes a bit more of swagger, some belief, some faith.
"Obviously, it feels good to be back in the win column," said Rasmus Andersson. "You can tell in here, it's a little bit more loose, back to normal, how things were. Just feels like we kind of got a few inches taller in here.
"We're feeling really good knowing we won the last one coming into this one. It's a really tough building, they have a really good team, so that big win two nights ago gave us a lot of confidence out of it."
It's something, the players agreed, that can't be understated.
"Confidence is a big thing in this league," said Andrew Mangiapane, who scored once against Philly. "It gave us a little bit of confidence. But, also, we have to play the right way still. It's good that we won but going into this game we can't go back to our old ways. We still have to compete, be heavy on pucks, still be smart defensively. So, it's good that we got that win but we have to keep going now."
Hopefully the trials and tribulations of the last few weeks can now be used a springboard to launch forward.
"I think that's gonna be huge," said Noah Hanifin. "I think whenever you're going through adversity like that, and you have a bunch of losses, guys are trying to force stuff. Nothing is going in for us, we're not getting the bounces - you can kind of get down.
"But I think after getting a win and having a big third period like we did everyone is feeling a little bit better about themselves and their game. We know what we can do in this room. I think getting that one out of the way was huge for our confidence."
