My Hidden Chimp: From the best-selling author of The Chimp Paradox

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If you had received this message yourself, under your car windscreen, how would you have reacted to receiving it? Recently, an article in the Financial Times declared that no was the new yes, and cited books with titles such as The Power of No, and How to Say No Without Feeling Guilty. These are trendy self-help books. But I’ve been reading books on the no side of the equation for a few years now. The importance of saying no to your impulses is more than fashionable – it’s a necessity. We live in a world designed to give us what we think we want. Now 'yes' is all around us The Chimp and the Human operate with different thought patterns, agendas (goals), and laws. We’ll explore each of these differences below. Your Inner Chimp Each of us has a psychological Chimp inside our brains, primitively reacting to the world and prompting us to act emotionally, impetuously, and irresponsibly. If you’ve ever struggled to stay in control of your urges, succumbed to temptation, or sabotaged your own success, your Chimp has probably taken the reins for a bit. While we all need instant gratification to stay balanced, overdosing pleasure causes self-loathing. Every minute spent on meaningless activities is one minute spent less on purpose-driven activities.And, of course: “The power resides in the prefrontal cortex, which, if activated, allows almost endless ways of cooling hot, tempting stimuli by changing how they are appraised.” But, they can understand that their inner chimp is not a reflection of who they are and who they want to be. In The Chimp Paradox, Steve Peters offers advice for finding success, confidence, and happiness. This includes how to communicate effectively, how to manage stress, and what to do when your emotional Chimp is taking over. Here’s where visualization is the perfect tool to bring our “physically expressed self” in alignment with the fragile, mental concept of our “internal ideal self.” Ultimately, Peters doesn't cover anything that anyone couldn't discover themselves with some self-reflection. Perhaps the model and guidelines could be of use to someone who allows their inner Chimp to take control too often - the fact that Ronnie O'Sullivan is quoted on the cover is instructive in this regard.

Anything that merely entertains your senses, that doesn’t contribute to your purpose, titillates the inner beast. Netflix, YouTube, video games, and so on. At first my intuition was to rate this book as one star but finally, I decided it has some value that cannot be left out. In my opinion it's aimed only for people that just started their journey of self-discovery and trying to learn retrospective and analytical thinking. For people as such, there are interesting concepts and techniques in this book, that may help to navigate through the hard beginnings. In The Marshmallow Test, Walter Mischel tells us about his famous experiment involving children and marshmallows. Partnoy describes it, too. It’s one of the most influential experiments in recent behavioural psychology. In the experiment, conducted at Stanford University in 1960s, four-year-old children were given a choice. A marshmallow was put in front of them, and they were told that they could eat the marshmallow now, or wait 15 minutes, after which they would be given two marshmallows. Caution must be taken with this method to avoid the ‘Animal Farm’ effect of ‘All athletes being equal, but some more equal than others’ but this can be achieved by ensuring the alpha male knows his role is to aid the group through his extra responsibility, not to wield power, and that you remain in charge. To summarise the premise: Peters proposes the model that the average person's actions are a result of the struggle between the Chimp and the Human portions of the brain, representing base and considered actions respectively. This notion will not be ground-breaking to anyone who has reacted poorly when their pride has been hurt, or when they have felt threatened or embarrassed. So far, so simple. Peters then continues to explain how to neutralise the input of the Chimp, to allow the Human to make better decisions. Much of his advice is the same as you might give to an angry child: take a deep breath, and think before you act.

What are the takeaways in controlling the inner chimp?

Have you ever told yourself that you would start a gym regime but didn’t got around to do it? Or have you ever told yourself that you would focus on getting the assignment done but didn’t get past the introduction? The frontal lobe, the logical thinking part, which seeks fact and truth – our human brain as we know it. Achievements: These are the stuff that you want people to remember you for. It is the legacy that you would be leaving in the company and in the minds of your colleagues. Now that I’ve told you about how I manage my inner chimp, I’d like to hear about your strategies and struggles to gain the upper hand. The good news is that we are able to suppress our inner chimp… well most of the time. Scientists tell us that genetically we are 99% chimp, but that 1% that makes us human is able to control our primate urges for the majority of the time, whether that urge is to steal all the biscuits at a workshop or say a few choice words to a sports official.

What’s more, with our extensive experience working with children and young adults, we know exactly how to tweak and tailor our language so that it makes sense to every child of every age. While reading The Chimp Paradox, worksheets can be used to apply the concepts to your own life. This approach makes sure you are getting the most from the book. A Chimp response is a natural, if unhelpful response. As it is a prehistoric and simple creature it responds in simplistic, emotional ways. It's responses are not nuanced and complex enough to cope with anything beyond life or death survival. We can never be rid of it, but we can recognise it and circumvent it.Firstly, realise you can’t bully your Chimp. You have to nurture it. Meet the needs of your Chimp first and it will be in a position where you can then talk to it rationally and it will listen. How? I would say there was, in terms of the recovery. The thoughts were still present but the perspective of mindfulness assisted recovery. responsive_video type=’youtube’ hide_related=’1′ hide_logo=’1′ hide_controls=’1′ hide_title=’1′ hide_fullscreen=’0′ autoplay=’0′]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78b67l_yxUc[/responsive_video] You can gain control of your Chimp by recognizing that when it decides on a course of action, it’s merely making a suggestion, not a command. So, when your Chimp wants that cookie, and asks your Human for permission to eat it, your Human does not have to say yes.

Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up if thou wilt ever dig. Marcus AureliusWhat is the chimp paradox model? Explaining this begins with a discussion of three key elements of your inner mind, each of which loosely corresponds to a physical area of your brain and serves a unique role in your psyche. This is a great book for those who have never engaged in any kind of self-appraisal whatsoever, especially if you are also unfamiliar with even the most basic elements of psychology. And I mean really, really basic. In The Chimp Paradox, Steve Peters presents his radical theory that there are two parts to the mind: a rational part and a emotional part. Wow. And that the emotional part sometimes interferes with the decision-making ability of the rational part. Hey, slow down brainiac! The genius of the book is that Peters takes complex information about the physical structure of our brain and builds a complementary psychological model that explains how each part contributes to our 'in-mind' experience each and everyday. You have gut feelings, these authors tell us. You have impulses. Don’t say yes to these impulses. Think again. Say no. The effect of meditation is cumulative. Retreat once in a while to give the chimp a slap on its wrist. Practice 10 minutes daily, for 3-4 weeks straight, to reduce that tantrum-throwing primate to a whispering squirrel monkey.