A New Way of Being

Dedication often beats talent, and application trumps genetics. Character is key - and it's what took Alex Danson-Bennett to the top of her sport as she became Team GB's top goalscorer as they won hockey gold at the Rio 2016 Games. ** Follow me : on instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ on twitter https://twitter.com/simonmundie And for the ' Mundie on Monday ' newsletter - featuring th...

Laurence Halsted - who competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics in fencing and was a European silver medalist - believes sport is falling short of its potential. The pervasive 'win at all costs' mentality has led to problems like doping, corruption, inhumane training cultures and mental health difficulties among athletes at all levels. Laurence argues that a significant issue is the failu...

Self-doubt is part of the human experience, but we don't have to let it dictate our actions. One of the greatest rugby league players of all time - Jamie Peacock MBE - explains how he overcame self-doubt to reach the top of his sport. ** Follow me : on instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ on twitter https://twitter.com/simonmundie And for the ' Mundie on Monday ' newsletter - featuring...

Amy Williams MBE became the first British athlete to win Gold at a Winter Olympics in 30 years at Vancouver 2010. Her event was Skeleton - which basically involves lying face down on a small sled, hurtling down an icy track at speeds upwards of 80 miles an hour. Not for the faint of heart. It took self-awareness for Amy to climb to the top of her chosen sport. Describing herself as shy and introve...

We live in the age of the smartphone. While there are huge benefits to this, it also comes at a cost. We are more distracted and our brains are not getting the opportunity to power down as they need to. But also, it is having a significant impact on the quality of our communication and our relationships. A simple tip then - put your phone away when possible when you are in company. Going out for d...

Bill Beswick is one of the world’s top sports psychologists. He worked at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as at many other top football clubs and in other elite sports. He has also worked individually with elite athletes including Adam Peaty. Bill is chock full of wisdom and fantastic advice. The theme is taking personal responsibility – but Bill shares actionable life lessons g...

Jason Fox is a former marine who was discharged from the army with PTSD. After coming close to suicide, Foxy started 'looking inwards' to process his trauma and work on rediscovering a childlike love of living in the present. The work he did was hugely rewarding, and since recovering he has gone on to forge a hugely successful career in the media, as star of 'SAS: Who Dares Wins' as well as on Net...

Anxiety is a very common experience, and clearly an uncomfortable one. The typical response to the feeling of anxiety in our bodies - and the accompanying racing thoughts - is to try and get rid of them, or distract ourselves from them. The problem is that may actually add fuel to the fire and perpetuate the feelings. If instead we can be brave enough to turn and face the feelings directly - not a...

What are the keys to good leadership? According to England Rugby Head Coach Eddie Jones, it's about setting a vision and working backwards, planning well, being adaptable and inspirational - which can simply stem from the way you care for people. Clear and concise communication is key, as is being a keen observer of what is happening around you and making sure your team masters the basics. Eddie J...

Why being true to yourself is vital to both success and happiness. It is easy to try and fit the mould of how we think we should act - particularly at work, but in any and all life situations. Often that means conforming to how we imagine others think we should be, taking us into the risky realm of 'mind-reading'. The answer? Be yourself as fully as you can be, not least because - as the cliche go...

Everyone knows the mainstream narrative around elite athletes – that they are superhumans capable of achieving the truly incredible. True in many ways – but perhaps not the whole story. What if - in many cases - the drive required to become the best in the world comes from a place of internal disquiet? Dr Amy Izycky is a clinical psychologist and psychodynamic psychotherapist with a major interest...

Imposter sydrome is where we feel like a fraud and don't deserve the success that comes our way. It is often accompanied by uncomfortable feelings like anxiety and thoughts like "I'm not good enough" or "I don't deserve to be here". The key insight from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is that uncomfortable thoughts and feelings are normal and to be expected. It is our desire to get rid of...

John Barnes is a former Liverpool, Watford and England footballer who would like people to think hard about discrimination and its origins. He has a new book out - The Uncomfortable Truth about Racism - which explores the human propensity for creating illusory hierarchies in our minds and putting people on pedastals. John's point is - whatever our background - deep down we are all the same. While...

Do you believe you will be happy and fulfilled at some point in the future - perhaps when you get the right job, relationship or house? Or maybe you will find lasting fulfilment when you do something really special - like win a World Cup... Jonny Wilkinson reached the pinnacle of his sport in 2003 aged 24, when he kicked England to World Cup glory. But, rather than being left with a sense of lasti...

Professor BJ Fogg is one of the world's top experts when it comes to behaviour change. He has spent 20 years researching and teaching insights about human behaviour, and is the author of the New York Times best-seller Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything . In this episode, we discuss why forming a new habit doesn't take place in a certain number of days. The research shows repetit...

Why when we eat may be more important than what we eat. PLUS - why going outside to get natural light in the first half of the day helps a multitude of things including your mood and your sleep, while getting blue light at night - from your phone for example - has the opposite effect. As the days get shorter, this episode has some simple to implement but seriously powerful tips to help improve you...

Will Greenwood is one of England's greatest ever rugby players. He played centre and was a key member of the 2003 World Cup winning side. His crucial try helped turn the game when England were trailing Wales in the quarter-finals, and one of the most memorable photos taken after England were crowned champions feautured Will and Jonny Wilkinson in a euphoric embrace. It has been nearly twenty years...

What can you do to help someone who is battling addiction, and what are the ways we rationalise addictive behaviours? Tony Adams - who recently celebrated 25 years without a drink - helped set up the Sporting Chance treatment clinic two decades ago. In this episode - he shares wisdom around dealing with addiction. This episode is being released in response to the large number of messages and email...

Paul Merson – the ex Arsenal, Villa and England footballer turned Soccer Saturday regular has battled issues for years with drink, drugs and gambling, which he considers to be the cruellest of the lot. Paul is currently clean and doing his bit to help others – not least through his new book Hooked: Addiction and the Long Road to Recovery. It’s a stark and at times brutal account of the damage addi...

Everything you experience - like thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions - come and go. But do you come and go with them? To help answer this question is philosopher Rupert Spira, who walks us through a simple but powerful process of 'self-enquiry' ** My debut book - Champion Thinking: How To Find Success Without Losing Yourself - is available to buy from January 18. Drawing on some of my f...

Most of us believe that there is a 'thinker' in our heads, who is thinking all our thoughts. My guest this week Sam Harris - neuroscientist, philosopher, New York Times best-selling author, host of the Making Sense podcast, and creator of the Waking Up app - argues that this is an illusion. Sam says if we can clearly see this, we can largely bring an end to our own suffering. Not pain – which is i...

At Wimbledon this year, newcomer Emma Radacanu reached the fourth round, but had to withdraw with breathing difficulties. It was - it seemed - a 'bad' thing. There was concern for her welfare, and questions as to whether it would impact her future Grand Slam chances. Emma then proceeded to produce one of the all time great Grand Slam performances on the way to winning the US Open as a qualifier -...

Sally Gunnell is a British athletics Great; the only woman to be Olympic, World and European 400 metres hurdles champion while simultaneously holding the World Record. While she dominated her sport in the early 1990s – Sally admits she couldn’t have done it without the team she built around her. She was ahead of her time in seeking help with the psychological side of competing - but brought in exp...

As Shakespeare wrote, "there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." Albert Ellis - founder of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) - ran with this idea and came up with a model to help identify the role belief plays in how we feel and subsequently act in the world. Sports psychologist Helen Davis explained how the model worksin our earlier episode on 'beliefs' and she step...

What lessons can we take from the approach, attitude and outlook of Roger Federer? Helping me answer that question is Christopher Clarey – arguably the top tennis journalist in the world. Chris has written a book called ‘the Master – the Brilliant career of Roger Federer’, in this episode we talk about what anyone can learn from the Swiss maestro – and Chris shares many stories to illustrate Feder...