Social belonging is a fundamental human need, hardwired into our DNA. Owen Eastwood is a performance coach who has worked with some of the most elite groups in the world, including the England football team, NATO and the Olympic’s Team GB. Evidence shows are hardwired to seek to belong and be accepted as we are, and when we are part of an organisation or team where that doesn’t happen, it is a huge drain on our energy, amongst other things. In this episode, Owen shares a powerful example of how ...
Oct 14, 2022•13 min•Ep. 148
You might know him currently as one of the most eye-catching dancers on Strictly Come Dancing, but Tony Adams is an Arsenal and England football legend. For a significant proportion of his time as one of England’s most successful footballers, Tony Adams was also stuck in the grip of alcoholism. He got clean in 1996, and proceeded to set up the Sporting Chance clinic – to help thousands of other people facing addiction. The contribution he has made to the wellbeing of others is immense. In this b...
Oct 07, 2022•11 min•Ep. 147
"Purpose is about aligning yourself with what life wants to do through you" Bernardo Kastrup is a scientist and philosopher who has worked for the European Organisation for nuclear research at CERN, inside the Hadron collider - and who has a PHD in computer engineering as well as a PHD in philosophy. He argues that, instead of thinking of ourselves as separate from life, if we can recognise that that we are a part of life, then that has some profound implications for the way that we live, set go...
Sep 30, 2022•10 min•Ep. 146
"Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time." Most people are super busy and the rates of burnout are soaring. So, something has to give, but the question is what? One person who came up with a brilliant formula for working out how to spend his time is Ed Jackson. Ed was a professional rugby player who broke his neck and was told he would never walk again but has made a remarkable recovery. Ed's formula for how to spend his time changed his life, and a...
Sep 23, 2022•13 min•Ep. 145
This a bit of a different episode of Life Lessons - a special episode to mark Roger Federer's retirement from tennis. As many of you know, I am a huge tennis fan, and have found Federer's play to be beautifully transcendent. I have been lucky enough to interview him on several occasions, and did the last ever one to one sit-down interview with him at Wimbledon at his last appearance in 2021. So, to mark his retirement, I am re-releasing this episode with the world's pre-eminent tennis journalist...
Sep 22, 2022•39 min•Ep. 144
"With discipline, people don't need rules" One of the best books I have read during the four years I have been recording this podcast is Legacy by James Kerr: about the strategies, attitudes and lessons that have enabled the New Zealand All Blacks to the most successful team in sporting history. In this episode James is talking about the power of giving people responsibility, and the example he starts off with is about a community in London ravaged by gang crime that managed to create a sense of...
Sep 16, 2022•9 min•Ep. 143
Kindness can have a profound impact on your health, your relationships, other people and the world at large - with Dr. David Hamilton Dr. Hamilton is a leading expert on the power of kindness, having written several books on the subject, including "The Five Side-effects of Kindness" He explains how even small gestures can have a profound effect, and the key role that 'the kindness hormone' oxytocin plays. ** Follow/message me: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Twitter https://twit...
Sep 09, 2022•8 min•Ep. 142
Taping your mouth shut at night has gone mainstream. I have been taping my mouth shut using microporous tape from Boots (for about £1.50) for about five years now. I used to hold my breath at night and suffered from brain fog - and this one hack had a transformative effect. Now the research is starting to show how powerful it can be. Best-selling author of Breath - James Nestor - is another sleep tape advocate, and explains the dangers of mouth breathing and what to do about it. So, if you rarel...
Sep 02, 2022•13 min•Ep. 141
Here are two powerful techniques to tackle anxiety and stop uncomfortable feelings controlling you. The first is about getting out of your head and into your senses - using the 5,4,3,2,1 method The second is called the Sedona method - and is about truly welcoming anxiety, without an agenda to get rid of it. It is paradoxical - but powerful. Chloe Brotheridge - coach, therapist and author of the Anxiety Solution - is my guest. ** Follow/message me: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/...
Aug 26, 2022•11 min•Ep. 140
Are you someone who eats lunch in a hurry, perhaps while catching up on emails? This might not sound hugely significant BUT it can come at a not insignificant cost, even if you have the cleanest, healthiest diet – as my guest Dr Rangan Chatterjee can explain. He talks about the ritual of lunch, about taking our time, about stepping off the daily treadmill – to be able to slip into the all important rest and digest parasympathetic nervous system. If we’re not in that state when we eat – no matter...
Aug 19, 2022•11 min•Ep. 139
Are you someone who is better at giving other people advice when they are faced with a problem than you are at helping yourself? If so - don't worry - it’s a really common phenomenon. Everyone has an inner voice. Sometimes the conversations people have with themselves can tip over into destructive rumination and self-criticism, which can affect our mood and negatively impact our physical health and overall wellbeing. The acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross calls this kind of destructive self-talk...
Aug 12, 2022•13 min•Ep. 138
What are you like at having difficult conversations? You know the type of thing, you have something you want to say, that needs saying – but rather than embrace the discomfort you decide it’s more bother than it’s worth and sweep it under the carpet. However – our ability to have difficult conversations and express ourselves truthfully, honestly and responsibly is one of the most important life skills anyone can have. Sweeping things under the carpet doesn’t make issues go away – they simply lin...
Aug 05, 2022•16 min•Ep. 137
When was the last time you were bored? For many people, not an easy question to answer. Why? The ubiquitous use of smartphones. Professor Cal Newport is the author of two seminal books, Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. In this episode he explains what Deep Work is and why it's important, and why our inability to find it is making us anxious and less effective. Smartphone use is a big factor - so if you think you use your phone more than you would like to, this episode is a must listen. The full...
Jul 29, 2022•18 min•Ep. 136
Is your mind on a treadmill? Burnout is a modern epidemic, so – what can you do about it? The answers can be simple and don’t have to be time consuming, but it’s about trying things out and putting them into practice. Here bringing the wisdom is former New Zealand and All Black legend Sir John Kirwan, a true rugby great who suffered from severe depression during his career and has since been knichted for services to mental health. JK is an absolute diamond – as is his advice. This stuff is simpl...
Jul 22, 2022•13 min•Ep. 135
"How to let off steam without blowing your top and upsetting everyone around you." Professor Steve Peters is an English psychiatrist who works in elite sport, who is also the acclaimed author of the Chimp Paradox. In this bitesize episode, Steve explains how to vent to discharge emotions like anger and frustration in an effective and inoffensive way. I also take Steve's example and apply it to 'expressive writing', another method that has been scientifically proved to help you to discharge emoti...
Jul 15, 2022•8 min•Ep. 134
Is it time to stop striving for continual personal improvement? This episode is about challenging the idea that we always need to be better than yesterday. This continual striving to improve ourselves is such a pervasive idea – particularly in the so-called self-help industry. My guest is a performance psychologist of the very top order – the world class Katie Warriner ** Follow/message me: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Twitter https://twitter.com/simonmundie And for the 'Mund...
Jul 11, 2022•13 min•Ep. 133
"Character is doing what needs to be done in spite of pressure and fatigue" In this episode we will be hearing from Bill Beswick, the highly acclaimed sports psychologist who worked at manchster United alongside Sir Alex Ferguson during Manchester United’s hayday. The topic we are talking about is character. What does it mean? And how can one develop character? ** Follow/message me: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/simonmundie/ Twitter https://twitter.com/simonmundie And for the 'Mundie on Mo...
Jul 08, 2022•14 min•Ep. 132
What is flow and what does it tell us about reality? Wimbledon has a different feel this year, because someone who has captivated the audiences here for two decades is missing – Roger Federer. Now Roger’s not this week’s guest, I’m still working on that, but I am talking about Roger as an example of someone who was so able to enter flow and be inspired when he played, to the delight of people watching. His play has been described as transcendent and akin to religious experience. So – flow is som...
Jul 04, 2022•16 min•Ep. 131
Is success about winning - or fulfilling your potential? Someone I see often at Wimbledon is Tim Henman – who I loved watching in the late 90s through to the early 2000s, and who I have had the pleasure of interviewing several times over the years. Tim used to get flack – and sometimes still does – for not winning Wimbledon. He was four-times a semi-finalist, but many people seemed to think that was a failure of sorts. I remember one interview with a Championship footballer in which he said he d...
Jul 01, 2022•12 min•Ep. 130
What price is worth paying for medals and success? Wimbledon is starting today , and the point of this episode is to challenge the idea that winning is the only thing that matters. In sport, and in life – it can be quite a pervasive idea. But if that was true, then out of the 128 people that entered the singles draws at Wimbledon, 127 of them would be – by definition – losers. And clearly that is not the case. Similarly, in life, the idea that if you don’t reach the very top or don’t change the ...
Jun 27, 2022•17 min•Ep. 129
"There is nothing either good or bad, only thinking makes it so" One thing that is clear right now is that times are tough for many people. There is the cost of living, inflation, strikes, a war in Europe… the list goes on. So I thought it was worth revisiting how the ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism might help people to cope as best they can during these trying times. My guest is Ryan Holiday, author of numerous books on stoicism including the superb the Obstacle is the Way. In this bitesiz...
Jun 24, 2022•12 min•Ep. 128
"When you feel afraid, ask yourself - are you actually in danger?" Alex Honnold is the Oscar winning Free Solo climber who scaled El Capitan, a sheer rock face twice as high as the Empire State building, without ropes or safety equipment. Alex therefore knows a thing or two about fear and consequence. Alex explains how often when we feel afraid we are not in danger, it just feels like we are. We are simply experiencing a cluster of thoughts in the mind and sensations in the body. If we can recog...
Jun 17, 2022•12 min•Ep. 127
Everyone faces adversity and pain in life, but it's how we respond to it that counts. If we choose to give in to fear, the inclination is to hide our flaws and insecurities, which restricts our ability to be vulnerable and connect authentically. Often a sense of shame accompanies what is a fear of rejection. When we choose to project those feelings of shame outwards - by criticising, belittling and judging others - what may seem powerful is actually no more than an expression of our own fear of ...
Jun 10, 2022•12 min•Ep. 126
Sir Chris Hoy is the most successful international track cyclist of all time, but things could have been very different but for a decision he made while still a junior. Hoy was initially a BMX rider, but the cost of competing was starting to bite and so he had a couple of choices: give his passion up and look for something more affordable - or put himself out there by seeking for financial help. He chose the latter option, and the rest is history. It's a lesson we can all learn from: if you don'...
Jun 03, 2022•11 min•Ep. 125
Peter Hamlyn is a world renowned neurosurgeon who operated on - and saved the life of - the boxer Michael Watson after a blood clot formed on his brain minutes after his infamous world title fight with Chris Eubank in 1991. Even though Michael's early prognosis was bleak, his recovery has been nothing short of remarkable. The Hamlyn family motto never give up, and Michael Watson further showed them just how powerful that outlook can be. Peter has also suffered a tragedy of his own, when his son ...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 124
Anxiety rates have exploded over the last decade, even before the impacts of covid and other recent events. Beyond medication, which certainly has its place, what is the best way to stop anxiety from having power over you? The answer may be a counter-intuitive one. Rather than battling to get rid of the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings associated with anxiety, can you make space for them and accept them? Dr. Russ Harris is the best-selling author of The Confidence Gap and The Happiness Gap, a...
May 27, 2022•15 min•Ep. 123
"Language is the most powerful drug known to man" Would you like to know how to be able to positively impact people's behaviour? Dave Alred is one of the most in-demand coaches in world sport, mentoring Jonny Wilkinson through his career and working with golf major winners and many others too. He explains how, if you want to change someone's behaviour, it is important to start by catching them doing something right, and choosing your language carefully. This episode is particularly powerful for ...
May 23, 2022•12 min•Ep. 122
"Values are the way we get peace within ourselves" Think about the people closest to you for a moment. Do you like them for what they achieve, or what they are like? (Hopefully it's the latter) This episode is about the difference between 'being' and 'doing' - and emphasises the importance of living in accordance with your values. my guest is Professor Steve Peters, author of the wildly successful book The Chimp Paradox ** A huge thanks to my sponsors, Puresport. Their range of CBD and Nootropic...
May 20, 2022•12 min•Ep. 121
'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit" When it comes to developing positive, healthy habits, one of the world's top experts is professor BJ Fogg, the author of the best-selling book 'Tiny Habits'. BJ busts the myth that habits are simply about repetition and illustrates his method - which has helped literally hundreds of thousands of people around the world - by discussing some of his long-standing bathroom habits. ** A huge thanks to my sponsors, Puresport. ...
May 16, 2022•16 min•Ep. 120
Whenever we step into a performance situation - whether it is giving a speech or presentation through to an Olympic final - it is normal to experience nerves. Many people try to bat such feelings away, or even believe they shouldn't be feeling that way, but if you can make space for those feelings - truly welcome and befriend them - then you can channel the power of adrenaline to help you. To illustrate this is Michael Johnson, the star of the 1996 Olympics in which he won 200 & 400 metres g...
May 13, 2022•9 min•Ep. 119
