Steve Peters: Managing your mind

Learning to manage your mind is crucial to both happiness and success. In this week’s episode of Don’t Tell Me The Score, Simon Mundie sits down with Professor Steve Peters, the English psychiatrist best known for his work in elite sport. He was integral in helping British Cycling become world beaters, has worked with Liverpool FC and the England football team- and has been credited with making arguably the greatest snooker player ever Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘the player he is today’. Steve famously created a model of the mind that was the subject of his first book ‘the Chimp Paradox’. Learning how to manage your inner chimp is the key to peace of mind, and getting ahead in sport and in life. In this episode, Steve explains what the inner chimp is and why we have to nurture it. He also reveals how negative self-beliefs are formed, and what to do about them, as well as the importance of establishing what your values are. He talks about working with kids – the subject of his new book ‘my hidden chimp’- and the importance of basing your self-esteem on the ‘human’ part of your mind. Crucially, he explains why working on your psychological health is one of the most important things you can do.