This book was the catalyst to get me thinking about my behaviour and the behaviour of others. It discusses the fact that we human beings have evolved from chimps and as such we have the ‘human’ in us and the ‘chimp’ in us. Both facets are important to have, but sometimes ‘the human’ needs to manage the ‘chimp’ in a way that is useful for everyone, not just the individual. It’s a fascinating read.
Prof. Steve Peters is the Sports Psychologist for Team GB and also supports UK athletes in working in cycling and snooker. It’s also very interesting to read how he has helped to build an athletes mindset to focus on their own performance and the ‘here and now’ and how the everyday person can translate that rhetoric to their everyday lives.
MY ONE TAKEAWAY
At the end of a chapter exploring ‘chronic stress’ Prof. Steve writes an analogy about ‘how to catch a monkey’ because “sometimes we cause ourselves distress by not letting go of something or someone in our life.” Prof. Steve goes on to describe that it’s difficult to catch a monkey. Let’s say you want to cement a vase into the ground and you’ve found a stone that is just about the right size to be pushed into the neck of said vase, but there is no way it can be taken out. A monkey comes along and tries to pull the stone out. They won’t let go because they want that stone. At this point it’s easy to then capture the monkey with a net because the monkey is distracted. That monkey threw their freedom away for a stone. Prof. Steve refers to the stone as being ‘worthless’ and I can understand why he uses such language – it’s to make you sit up and think about what or who you are holding on to.
I personally wouldn’t brand anyone or any experience as being ‘worthless’. There is always something valuable to learn from experiences or people who have hurt us. Nonetheless, the last sentence Prof. Steve wrote in the analogy had stuck with me ever since and that was: “Your freedom and happiness are worth more than any stone.” I have never forgotten this one liner. I’m confident that now, if I ever find myself in a situation that may not be good for me, I can walk away knowing I’m better off without it.
