The Mind Management Behind GB’s Olympic Cycling Team: ‘The Chimp Paradox’ by Dr Steve Peters
The Chimp Paradox
Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk
Team GB’s cycling team has put on an awesome (in the truest sense of the word) display of technique, dominance, and mental strength at the London 2012 Olympics. Working with the cycling team since 2001, Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters is showcasing his groundbreaking mind management model. In his bestselling book, The Chimp Paradox, Dr Peters offers us a concept which divides the brain into three parts: the Chimp, Human and Computer. It is ‘the chimp’ within us all – the unreasoned emotional part of us – that causes us our problems, that thwarts, sabotages and defeats us.
In The Chimp Paradox, Peters gives us techniques to manage our mind and offers vital understanding about why things often go wrong. His model, though a little quirky, is incredibly helpful, not just to elite sports people but to anyone who struggles with self-worth, struggles to fulfil their potential and reacts badly to events in their life. Ronnie O’Sullivan, known as the most gifted snooker professional to ever play the game, has struggled privately and publicly with his mood and feelings, all of which have affected his performance. O’Sullivan’s testimonial of these mind management techniques is revealing and he credited his May 2012 World Championship success to the effectiveness of Dr Peters’ model. (Updated article, 2014)
You may not be aiming for Olympic Gold, be an elite sports person, or sport may not even be your thing, even so, do have a look at this excellent book and see if any of the techniques could work for you and help you succeed in your own life. The Chimp Paradox may enable you to manage your mind more effectively and live up to your full potential.
Let me know what you think to The Chimp Paradox. Does it have any mind management techniques which work for you? Do you think it’s an unhelpful book? Whatever your thoughts, I’d like to hear them. I really look forward to your comments.
This Olympics have been wonderful, and I have done my share of cheering and jumping up and down from my TV side seat.
The Energies these Games have created have been very positive and I have no doubts have opened up a greater vibration of positive energy into the world as a result.. Certainly in the UK thats for sure..
Thank you for commenting.
I thought I had subscribed which I see I have.. and yet Im not getting any of your recent updates in my email box. So I am going to un-follow and follow again. To see if that works. But since the changes on WP it can mean I just get your updates in the updates section of new posts..
Wishing you an enjoyable weekend
Sue
Found out why it says your posts will be found only in my reader.. You dont have follow you via email button to click.. so thats why as I dont log into the reader often…
Enjoy the rest of the weekend.. Sue
Hi Sue, yes, some great positive enjoy flowing from the Olympics – we need it too. Hope that the posts come OK – the link for email follow is on the right side bar – hope it is still there…will check it out. Thanks so much for following, in spite of the difficulties 🙂 Look forward to your next post – I always visit the site rather than just read it on email as you know how much I enjoy the visuals on your beautiful site. Have a lovely weekend too! Ruth
The chimp, human, and computer model reminds me of Freud’s id, ego, and super ego. Thank you for this book recommendation. Sounds interesting. Going to add it to my long to read list. 🙂
Thanks so much Claudia. The book does make interesting reading and the model, although quirky, is very useful and helpful. I’ll be writing a bit more on it in the future – in the self-help posts – to further explore the model and its original features. Lovely to see you here! Ruth
Extremely proud of all those who competed in the Olympic team. However I have been reading The Chimp Paradox and I am afraid to say it has a terrible big gaping flaw. The book continually gives examples of what to do but not how to do it. ‘Talk to the chimp, calm the chimp down.’ ‘Replace gremlins with autopilots.’ Brilliant but how? With what technique? It’s the equivalent of being told how great self hypnosis is and what happens when you’re in a relaxed state. But then totally forgetting to mention the method needed to go into the hypnotic state. Do you talk/calm your chimp with your eyes closed? Do you lay down? Do you speak out loud? Exactly how do you replace a gremlin with an autopilot? Do you write it down, shout it out, meditate? It’s totally bizarre and frustrating that this information was omitted.
Hi Simon, Thanks so much for your comment. A model is only as good as the instructions it gives to use it. I did think that there was a good bit of guidance and specific instructions. Such as, ‘exercising’ the chimp (finding a friend and offloading or writing things down), the specific ways to figure out your ‘Stone of Life,’ (writing it down, making a poster, putting it somewhere prominent); the advice on how to find your gremlins (think of a time you struggled with something, ask questions of yourself, etc.) I totally take on board, though, if you don’t feel it was explicit enough. The battle going on is within the mind and any technique you use which focuses in that area will be helpful: writing things down, mind maps, stopping and analysing your thoughts, taking time out to reflect on issues etc. You can be sitting quietly, meditating, talking out loud, using your imagination or writing things down. Any of these methods work and different things work for different people. Your comment was timely as it reminds me, in my own writing, to ensure that the ‘how’ is fully focused on. All the best to you and thanks so much for taking the time to comment.
Thanks so much for your reply. Nevertheless it highlights exactly my problem with the book .For instance, yes you ‘exercise’ the chimp by letting it talk in an emotional way to a friend. Then you box the chimp by speaking to it, but how do you speak to it? The book gives no technique, it gives an example of what John (there are never ending such examples) could say. But by what means? Do you just say things in your head? If I have missed this explanation please show me. Again replacing gremlins with autopilots into the computer, by what exact means do you do this? Might you just say them again in your head? If so, how would you know if you were talking to the chimp or the computer?
Why do I need to guess this, why doesn’t the book specifically explain how to do what it’s telling me to do. I accept the stone of life and how to find gremlins, I accept you can put charts/goals on your fridge, it all makes sense. But if you accept the theory of the chimp/human/computer then surely you would need a mechanism to address one part of that scenario. If I take on board your suggestion that everyone is different and I might want to meditate, mind map and so forth, why doesn’t the book also just say that? I would love someone to prove me wrong, but I do believe it’s a peculiar oversight.
Hi Simon, I do see where you’re coming from. The thing is I don’t think it matters how the dialogue takes place – talking aloud, writing things down, talking in your head. The key is recognising which parts of your thoughts and behaviours are chimp, human etc., and then addressing them. I do think the exercises, which close every chapter, focus on all the pieces that need to fit together for the model to work well. But I do also see that it is not specific enough for you and that you feel it’s flawed because of that. Why not write to Dr Peters and see what he says? I’m sure he would be interested in your thoughts. Once again, thanks for putting out this interesting view – one I haven’t heard – and for highlighting how important specific instructions are. The book ‘Thoughts & Feelings’ which I reviewed, has a great deal more specificity in the ‘how’ – maybe this could be useful to you? All my best to you, Ruth.
Hi Ruth, just paying back a call and while I have been around I just went to listen to your beautiful voice again.. as I listened to ‘I want to make a statement’ .. Tell me, is that you playing the guitar in the background??? Enjoyed my visit, and a shame I couldnt leave a comment upon your post with your Note-book page as you’d shown how you first wrote your lyrics.. Reminds me of all the Notebooks I have with scraps of poems and insights etc I have ALL over.. I have them from way back in the 90’s and I only this weekend did some late summer-spring cleaning as I burn a load of papers and old note books from year dot…
I figured its time they went.. LOL..
Thank you for adding your own Sunshine upon my Dark clouds post.. lovely to see you .. Sue xox
Thanks so much Sue – lovely to see you here. When I set up the site I didn’t realise that people would want to comment so much – it is wonderful. I will go back to some of those lyrics pages and add a comment button! Yes, it is me playing the guitar. Sadly I can’t play now. If you get a chance to scroll down on the main music page it explains a bit more. I’m just working on a video for the title track using stills from years ago when it was recorded. A post will go out about it soon. I hope the follow button is OK now, someone else said they thought they had followed but it is not showing up. Strange. You are listed as being on the wordpress ‘reader’ setting but not an email follower. I’m quite new to it all, so please let me know if you don’t get anything in early September. Always lovely to see you here and glad you liked the song and the notebook! I’ll be over to yours again soon 🙂 Ruth
I will Ruth, This is the problem. the follow at the top is to reader and not email.. I did click it to deliver email if you should post….. And I will be sure to follow your Music page and scroll to find your story.. Have a good evening.. Sue x
Thanks so much Sue!