A Coach's Diary

The most valuable lesson I learned this week is that if you want to make big changes, start small by figuring out what you want to do and then defining 3 things: what you will do, when you will do it, and where you will do it. Author James Clear says, “Life is a game of momentum, and one of the powerful things about starting with small habits is that you make it easy for yourself to show up each day, but you also make it easy for yourself to get a win.” Too often, we hope for motivation and inspiration to strike us, but while we often feel like we lack motivation, we actually lack clarity. Clear says we should have “Implementation Intentions.” This means declaring what you will do, when, and where. Here is how you do it: I will _________, on __________, at _________. For example: I will workout, on Friday, at 24 hour fitness. Having a clear plan for when and where you will do something or implement a new habit, you are more likely to stick with it. Making decisions ahead of time instea...

Karen Cogan is a sport psychologist known for her practical approach to building mental toughness. Her work focuses on helping athletes simplify the mental side of performance into a few trainable habits. Her core idea: Mental toughness isn’t complicated — it’s the consistent execution of a few key mental skills under pressure. Cogan emphasizes three foundational mental skills: Goal Setting: Clear, specific goals give you direction and purpose. This includes both outcome goals (what you want) and process goals (how you’ll get there). Imagery (Visualization): Mentally rehearsing success prepares the brain and body for performance. Seeing yourself execute builds confidence and reduces anxiety. Positive Self-Talk: The way you talk to yourself shapes how you perform. Replacing doubt with constructive, confident language helps you stay composed and focused. Why This Matters Pressure doesn’t create habits — it exposes them. When you consistently practice goal setting, visualization, and self...

In a TEDx Talk , author Patrick Lencioni says life is a team sport, and we are in the era of teamwork. If we want to be the best we can be for ourselves and others, we have to strive to be ideal teammates. He says there are 3 areas that you have to master to be a great teammate: Humble , Hungry , Smart (Emotionally and Socially Intelligent) While hitting 1 out of 3 is good in baseball, and making 2 out of 3 of your shots is good in basketball, you have to go 3 out of 3 to be an ideal teammate. Here Is How Lencioni Defines The Big 3 1 - Humility - Humility is putting others ahead of ourselves while still shining our light and being the best we can be. C.S. Lewis said, “Humility isn’t thinking less of ourselves, it’s thinking about ourselves less.” 2 - Hungry - You have to develop an innate sense to do good work and to get things done. People who are hungry want to go above and beyond in everything they do, they have a high standard for what they do and never do the bare minimum. Be hu...

Kim Scott is a leadership coach and former executive at companies like Google and Apple. She is best known for her book Radical Candor, which focuses on how great teams communicate and give feedback. Scott argues that strong cultures are built on two simple behaviors: caring personally and challenging directly . Caring personally means people know you value them as a person, not just as a performer. It means building relationships, listening, and showing genuine respect. Challenging directly means being honest when something needs to improve. Instead of avoiding difficult conversations, strong teammates address issues clearly and quickly. When one of these behaviors is missing, teams struggle. If people challenge directly without caring personally, feedback feels harsh or disrespectful. If people care personally but avoid challenging directly, problems go unaddressed and performance suffers. Scott summarizes this balance with a simple definition: “Radical Candor is caring personally w...

Jim Taylor is a well-known sports psychologist who has worked with athletes across Olympic, collegiate, and professional sports. His work focuses on helping performers develop the mental habits that lead to consistent performance under pressure. One of Taylor’s core ideas is simple but powerful: “Focus on the process, not the outcome.” Athletes often become distracted by results — winning, rankings, statistics, or what other people expect. When attention shifts to the outcome, anxiety increases and performance usually drops. Taylor teaches athletes to bring their attention back to controllable actions — preparation, effort, focus, and execution. When athletes concentrate on doing the next thing well — the next swing, the next play, the next possession — they stay present and perform closer to their ability. The best performers don’t ignore goals. They just understand that goals are achieved by winning the small moments that lead to them. For teams, this mindset is powerful. Instead of ...

Do you consider yourself a “bad” communicator, a “better” communicator, or the “best” kind of communicator — someone author Charles Duhigg calls a “Supercommunicator”? Charles is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of books about habits, productivity, and communication. In his best-selling book, “Supercommunicators,” Charles defines a Supercommunicator as someone who is exceptionally skilled at connecting with others — not because they talk more, but because they understand how conversations really work. He believes most conversations don’t break down because people are bad communicators, but because people are having different conversations at the same time . Duhigg says there are three types of conversations happening in most interactions: Practical – What are we doing? What’s the plan? Emotional – How do we feel about this? Social – Who are we? What does this say about me or us? If someone is sharing feelings and we respond with solutions, we miss them, and...