BEN AINSLIE SAILOR
Can you control your mind?
To me, it's more about experiences: recognising what worked or what didn't work before. That's how my mind operates when I'm racing. I think I can probably control my mind better now than when I was younger, and experience helps with that. I wouldn't say I was in total control of my mind, though.
How do you deal with extreme pressure?
That's what I really love about the racing: the buzz of being under really extreme pressure and having to perform. It's an amazing feeling in a way, what that amount of pressure does to you. I've been fortunate, in most cases, as I've had really good experiences of being under real pressure. In some ways, I get really excited by it and look forward to it. But it's important to react to it in the right way, to just use it to stimulate you and to work harder and not let it worry you. In my mind, I disassociate myself from the external pressure and just use it as a challenge and try to make the most of it.
What was the best piece of advice you ever had?
I was told very early on never to give up. It's obvious, of course, but it's advice that has served me well over the years. But the most important thing I have learnt in my sporting career so far is honesty — in terms of analysing your performance and what you need to do better as a performer.
What advice would you give anybody aspiring to be the best they could be?
You have to be 100 per cent in every area. In some ways, you have to be ruthless to achieve that.
LAURA DAVIES GOLFER
Can you control your mind?
I wish I could. That's my biggest problem. I'm probably still the best ball-striker in the women's game, but I'm just not the best mentally out there on the course. I've been doing it for
so long, but when you are younger, it's easy to forget about the bad shots. Now I always feel as if I'm trying to prove myself.
How do you deal with doubt?
It all connects to the same thing — you are worried that you are not going to hit it where you want to. With every shot, you just have to think about where you want the ball to go. You can never think about where you don't want
it to go. Doubt is the thing that
I have had to work against the most. When you are playing well, you simply don't think about anything. You think about what you might say in the speech afterwards. I've been in that situation three-quarters of the way through a tournament, as it all came so easy, whereas now, it doesn't.
What do you do when you
feel nervous?
I walk around. You can't play unless you get nervous.
Even when I was winning
week-in, week-out, I was still nervous. You still feel the excitement. I view nerves as
a very positive thing.
What is the most important ingredient in your achieving success?
The fact that I'm never scared of losing. I go for every shot. Within reason, of course, as you can't be gung-ho on every shot. Never be scared
to fail. That's the secret.
AP MCCOY JOCKEY
Can you control your mind?
Yes, totally. I believe that sport — and life in general — is all about controlling the mind. It's about thinking positively
all the time — negative things can get you down. It's hard because sometimes negative things happen, and it's difficult to not let them stick
in your mind, but if they keep sticking in your mind, they'll
be there and they will have an affect on your performance. Everyone makes mistakes in life — I know I have. But when you make mistakes, when you think that may affect how you are going to continue, the quicker you get that out of your head, the better.
How do you deal with doubt?
It might sound a simple thing to say, but you should never have any doubt. Of course, even the strongest-minded person will have something creep in somewhere at some time. But you have to believe in yourself. You must never believe that, for whatever reason, someone else is going to do something better than you are.
What do you do when you feel nervous?
What are nerves? I think people who have performed well at big events don't get nervous. They get excited. They get butterflies, but I don't think that's a nervous thing, I think it's a big occasion thing. People who suffer with nerves never really perform on the big stage. It's impossible not to get a nervous feeling
in your body, but once an event starts, that all goes. For me, the worst thing that is going to happen is that I'm not going to win.
What's been the most important ingredient in
your achieving success?
Even though I think that when
I ride a horse, I can ride it better than anyone else, I never take it for granted. I always feel that there might be more talented people out there. As Muhammad Ali once said, you have to have the will and the skill, but the will must be stronger than the skill.
What advice would you give to anybody aspiring to be the best they could be?
You have to have belief. If you don't have belief, you have nothing. If you don't believe in yourself, how is anyone else going to believe in you?
DAMON HILL RACING DRIVER
Can you control your mind?
I think it is possible to control your mind, definitely, but I think it's very easy to be distracted. It's part of any competitor's necessary skill set to be able to focus on what they are there to do and be absolutely in the right zone — not behind, not ahead.
What do you feel is your most destructive emotion and how do you deal with it?
I don't like losing. If you can imagine a four-year-old boy who is having a tantrum because he's not got what he wants, there's a little bit of that in me. I think if I didn't have that energy in me then I would not try so hard to win. I've tried to work out whether it's a fear of losing or just wanting to win — and I don't think you can separate the two. It's the carrot and the stick. Everyone needs a bit of a carrot and a bit of a stick.
I think it's best to have more carrot, but sometimes you have to give yourself a bit
of stick as well.
What did you do whenever you felt nervous?
The word 'nervous' does not compute for me. You simply can't be nervous. Any nerves are more to do with worrying about not being able to do your best. I was never worried about the danger element of racing as you can always take the necessary precautions. Once you're in the car, you already know what you are going to do. In really torrential conditions, your mind might start to wonder whether they should stop the race, but you can always slow down.
DAVID JAMES FOOTBALLER
Can you control your mind?
This might sound absolutely mad, but when I'm on the pitch, I'm in control, yet knowing that there are going to be fluctuations. I can't say that I go out there and know that I am 100 per cent totally positive because that's not true. Even during my preparations, I think bad things, not because I feel down on myself but I have to be aware of the potential of something not going right — but the secret is knowing
how you then counteract these thoughts.
What do you feel is your most destructive emotion and how do you deal with it?
I try to trim off the highs and the lows. That's how it works best for me. The loss of emotional control means the loss of objectivity, so you literally go out, you do a job, you're happy if you win, and you're happy if you keep a clean sheet, then you get back in the changing-room and are pleased with the performance, and then next game you have to do the same again.
What advice would you give to anybody aspiring to be the best they could be?
If you want to be the best, you have to know what it is you can be the best at. Anyone can play football, anyone can be their best at football, but they could be wasting so much time and effort when they might be a better basketball player, for example, or they might get more enjoyment out of doing something else they're better at.
ANDREW FLINTOFF CRICKETER
Can you control your mind?
Not fully, no, but I can control my emotions.
What do you do when you feel nervous?
I try to hide it. You're always going to get nerves. When
I walk out to bat with my helmet on, and look around, I am nervous. But nerves are also a sign for me that I'm ready to play: I'm here and I'm ready. When you stand there waiting for the first ball with someone like Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar coming up
to bowl, it makes you feel alive, it's great.
What do you feel is your most destructive emotion and how do you deal with it?
Like most sportsmen, it's insecurity. At some point,
you will question yourself. It's
something you just have to deal with. Past experiences and past performances can go some way towards dealing with it. I just try to put some perspective on the situation. I've experienced injuries, poor form, a five-nil defeat in the Ashes — and it can't
get any worse than that — so in terms of what I've been through, I won't say that you can't hurt me, but I'm just here to enjoy myself.
What's been the most important ingredient in your success?
I've enjoyed it. All I ever wanted to do was play, and fortunately I've been able to do that. Also, when you're injured and the game is taken away from you, you realise what it means, and how much you want to get back — and that has been the driving force behind all the rehab I've done as well.
What advice would you give to somebody aspiring to be the best they could be?
You have to enjoy what you do. Otherwise there is no point, especially in sport.
SCOTT QUINNELL RUGBY PLAYER
Can you control your mind?
Yes, you can certainly control your mind. You can go through barriers that you put in front of yourself — and the hardest one is controlling your mind. A lot of people fail because they put their own barriers up around themselves. What you have to do is deconstruct those barriers and set yourself realistic goals. I've always been a big believer in goal-setting. I write down my biggest goal on a piece of paper and then write maybe 20 smaller goals beneath. You then keep chipping away until you reach that big goal.
As a player, what did you do when you felt nervous?
There are different types of nerves. There are positive nerves before the game — if you haven't got those, then there's no point playing the game. Then there are the nerves which come from self-doubt — am I good enough
to be on the park? I've been lucky in that I've been confident in my own ability.
What's been the most important ingredient in your achieving success?
The people around me. That and not being frightened of asking for help and not being frightened to take criticism. I have also not been frightened of putting myself on the line, both mentally and physically.
What advice would you give to anybody aspiring to be the best they could be?
Never give in.
PHIL TAYLOR DARTS PLAYER
Can you control your mind?
Yes. I wouldn't say that this is the case for 100 per cent of the time, though, especially if
I start to struggle a little and start to listen to every comment coming from the crowd. Nine times out of ten, though, if I have prepared properly, things are fine.
What do you feel is your most destructive emotion and how do you deal with it?
I don't really have any destructive emotions. If I get any problems in my life, I can shut them out by putting a little barrier up and then I sort them out afterwards. Two weeks after my dad's funeral, I won the World Championship. I could hear my dad's voice saying, "Oi, get the job done."
What do you do when you feel nervous?
I take big breaths and try to have a little break at half-time. You try and get as much oxygen as you can. But nerves come from excitement. You have to enjoy what you do.
A lot of sportspeople don't enjoy it. It's like they don't want to be there. I love playing, 100 per cent of the time.
What was the best piece of advice you ever had?
My parents had a lot to do with it. It was bred into me. You get up and you go to work. It's my job. It's what I do. And I do it the best I can every time.
Mentality by Joe Sillett and Karl Morris, £14.99, from mentality.tv. A percentage of proceeds will be donated to Special Olympics GB.
BUY IT HERE: Mentality: The Secrets of Success. How Leading Sports Personalities in Britain Made it to the Top
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