A Road Less Traveled with Michael Hann

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The Power of Coaching

Imagine watching NFL teams play without coaches. Every team has their roster of super athletes, incredibly talented at their respective positions, but nobody to guide them. It would likely look like the old days of football, unorganized chaos, with a bunch of guys smashing into each other.


This same concept applies to the mind as well. Every day we constantly have thoughts racing through our heads, a lot of times a lightbulb goes off and you have an “aha” moment of realization, some sort of epiphany that you feel can change your life. 99% of the time, that thought is fleeting and you never take action on it, likely to completely forget about it shortly after. 


A coach can help you capture these moments, and create guidance through a comprehensive plan. They write these thoughts of yours down, analyze them from different angles, and come up with a plan that will help their trainees become successful in their respective discipline. They are there for you to bounce ideas off of and hold you accountable, which makes it easier to take action. 


I’ve been working with a mindset coach for a little over 3 months now, and holy cow has it impacted my life! We meet weekly through a video chat, and she texts me every day to hold me accountable to my personal goals. There are so many things that can distract us from our goals, whether it be our own ego, bad habits, or whatever excuse you can think of that keeps you from going to the gym, or eating a healthy meal, and Tina tries to keep you on the right path. Over the last three years I have had the intention of working on my blog, my YouTube channel, and most importantly my disc golf game every day. I have found that it’s incredibly difficult to motivate myself and I found myself slacking off with the “I’ll just do it tomorrow” attitude. I’d say one of the most valuable things I’ve learned from Tina is that building a routine and working on each of your goals every day, even if it’s just 10 minutes, will progress you towards your long-term goal and create that serotonin your brain needs to keep you motivated. I started with a daily goals chart that I hung on my mirror in my living room that I would check off as I completed each of my tasks for the day. That was the beginning of building my habit of being productive, and meeting my daily goals has only become easier!

I’ve used this daily goals chart to help myself build a daily habit. The times are just a goal, but even 10 minutes counts towards building that habit!


Now let's talk about coaching in regards to disc golf. This is something I personally have not had much experience with, but I know would add incredible value to my disc golf game. If you live in the Western New York area, there are a number of coaches you can reach out to that will walk a course with you and help you fine tune everything from breaking down your form to the mental side of disc golf. I spent a day with Sam Castiglione, one of the well known pros around here, and learned priceless tips from him that I have implemented into my game which brought immediate improvement. Sam toured with Paul Ulibarri and is a special education teacher that specializes in developing students based on their individual needs, which translates into a great disc golf coaching method. He currently works as a coach through the Ulibarri Leadership Institue and I’d highly recommend reaching out to him. If you don’t have coaching available in your area, there are plenty of coaches out there that will work with you virtually such as Scott Stokely, who has an entire coaching program called the Scott Stokely Disc Golf Method and team of players that will work with you and help you break through to the next level. With a little bit of guidance, you could be reaching that distance goal of yours, or improve your putting percentage in no time!


I used to be stubborn and have the mindset that I could achieve high levels of success without a coach, especially a mindset coach. I thought I was mentally tough and had no need for it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! There’s a reason professional athletes at the highest level have mindset coaches and it’s because they can help you break through walls that we create in our own minds that hold us back from being the best version of ourselves. There may be a stigma that goes along with having a mindset coach, or seeing a therapist. I’m here to tell you it’s okay! The fact that you are working on becoming a better version of yourself is all that matters, and anyone that sees that as a negative probably needs to work on themselves. 

I highly recommend coaching if you have personal goals or dreams that you want to achieve, no matter what they are. It can be anything from buying a house, to starting a dream job that you are too scared to apply for, becoming an entrepreneur, or reaching that higher level of your disc golf game… reach out to a coach and get that help you probably feel you don’t need! 


Here’s some links to a few coaches 

Mindful with Tina: Wellness and Mindset Coach

Instagram: @mindfulwithtina

Application: Wellness and Mindset Coaching Application



Sam Castiglione: Disc golf coach

Book lessons with Sam here: Ulibarri Leadership Institue

Or message him directly on his Facebook or Instagram for more information