World Snooker Champ Ronnie O’Sullivan Comes To Terms With His Inner Chimp!

“World Snooker Champ Ronnie
O’Sullivan Comes To Terms With
His Inner Chimp!”
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PRESENTS
© 2013 The Mudd Partnership | www.themuddpartnership.com | @muddpartnership | www.fb.com/muddpartnership

We hear today that as Ronnie O’Sullivan prepares for his quarter final match in
the Snooker World Championship currently playing out at Sheffield’s Crucible
Theatre he’s getting to grips with The Chimp Paradox, but how can
understanding and controlling your Inner Chimp materially help with developing
your Resilience, Mental Toughness, &, Positivity & make you a Winner?
As we highlighted in previous Blogs, those three core elements can all markedly
impact and contribute to enhancing performance and increasing productivity in
your work life and have a more fulfilled home life, so what is the „Chimp
Paradox‟ & what can we do about it?
In his book of the same name, Steve Peters describes it as a seemingly irrational
and impulsive being that inhabits our minds and is responsible for nagging self-
doubt & the fear or trepidation which we can all feel at certain times & which
can have a negative impact on both our professional and personal live.
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Dr Peters argues that there are three elements to the psychological mind. He
calls these the Chimp, the Human & the Computer. Readers at this point might
be reminded of Sigmund Freud’s three states of Id, Ego & Super Ego. Let’s see if
there is any similarity?
The Chimp (Limbic Brain) is the area of the mind that goes back to a very
primitive and essential part of human development. Its primary motivation is
survival and feelings, impressions, emotional thinking and gut instincts drive it.
The Chimp in us will quickly jump to opinion and thinks in quite literal and B&W
terms. Dr Peters suggests that it can be paranoid and its behaviour if unchecked
is quite irrational, emotive and ultimately catastrophic.
On the other hand, the Human (Front Brain) part of the mind is the
rational, analytical, evidence-based third. It thinks in shades of grey
(probably, but not exclusively 50+) & operates a balanced judgment. It is driven
by self-fulfillment and longer-term purpose.
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The Computer (Parietal Brain) runs alongside the Chimp & the Human and is
likened to a Hard Drive which is empty at birth, but which through the life lived
becomes a repository of all our experience to which both the Chimp and
the Human look to for guidance when reacting to situations. Of course like a real
computer you can get GI/GO – Garbage In & Garbage Out, as
the Computer will only be as good as the information it has been programmed
with; whilst the Paradox comes from a kind of „Dualism‟ which Plato wrote about
2000 years ago in „The Symposium‟ & an inherent tension where as well as being
your worst enemy at times, the Chimp can also be your very best friend – &, as
the song goes, “With friends like these who needs enemies”!
Dr Peters stresses however that you cannot bypass the Chimp or control it with
willpower and says instead that you need to acknowledge it and have
a „Management Plan‟ to eventually, „Box the Chimp‟!
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And as to any similarities with Freud’s three states, both Peters & Freud are
essentially describing Systems rather than parts of the Brain, &, neither system is in
any way physical. The Id though is rather like the chimp: The Ego is the modified
and reasoning Human: And the Super Ego is your(Super) Computer incorporating
the values and social morals that are learned from one’s experiences and
upbringing.
So what can you do about it and what might a „Management Plan‟ focus on in
order to „Box the Chimp‟ & enhance and augment your Resilience, Mental
Toughness & Positivity? Well The Mudd Partnership suggests you might wish to
consider the following
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1. Working On Your Self- Discipline
Self-Discipline is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it will
get, whilst the less you exercise it the weaker it will become; Try to
level the playing field between your „Present Self‟ & your „Future Self‟
with what Daniel Goleman calls a „Commitment Device‟; incentivize
your actions and reward yourself to shape and drive positive
behaviour;
2. Making Banishing Negativity Your Primary Goal
As we wrote in a previous Blog, “Accentuate the positives &
eliminate the negatives”; Focus on being Buoyant & Resilient; Be
Authentic and open to challenge; Actively seek out growth &
development opportunities; Widen your social circle and
professional sphere of Influence; & look for the Purpose and Passion
in everything you do;
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3. Developing Your Compassion & Social Conscience
You are not on your own – You have a relationship not only with
yourself, but your family, friends & the wider world; You are
connected and this connectivity can be as light or as full-on as
you want it to be – Just don‟t be passive; Develop your
Attunement; Nurture all your relationships, be socially aware and
demonstrate compassion in all areas of your life;
4. Improving Your Confidence
In previous Blogs we‟ve looked at Resistance Practice & Personal
Mastery – Become a continuous learner & play to your strengths;
Set yourself challenging goals; Don‟t be afraid to
Practice, Practice, Practice & as you develop new skills and
strengthen existing ones your self-confidence will increase; &
finally
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5. Learning To Manage Stress
Stress is OK! Work on becoming Anti-Fragile which Nassim
Nicholas Taleb defines as someone, or something that doesn‟t
just endure shocks and stress, but can actually benefit from them
and actively seeks these experiences out; Be Present in your own
life & start from where you are at and what you have got, not
from where you want to be & what you want to get (The Mudd
Partnership works with all their clients from the point where they
are at and any intervention begins with firstly both appreciating
and then fully understanding the Individual, Team, Organisation
or Business context); & a great Mnemonic to keep to the fore is
AMP – Quite simply, Accept, Move On & Plan;
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6. Listen Actively & Communicate Robustly
Be Astute & Sincere in how you interact and network; Listen for
what Ronald Heifetz & Marty Linsky describe in their
book, 'Leadership On The Line‟ as “The song beneath the words”
i.e. what is really being said and what is really being felt; &
communicate unambiguously without fear or favour!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this and if you want to find out more
about our work with Individuals, Teams, Organisations and
Businesses, to build Resilience & Enhance
Performance, please Contact Us & let us make a compelling
case for working with you!
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Website : www.themuddpartnership.com
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World Snooker Champ Ronnie O’Sullivan Comes To Terms With His Inner Chimp!

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World Snooker Champ Ronnie O’Sullivan Comes To Terms With His Inner Chimp!