All sportsmen have superstitions, or at least they have routines. You look at Rafa Nadal and the way he organises his water bottles. Me, I always put my left pad and left shoe on first.
Anyone who has been born in Yorkshire is very proud of it. It's something that's embedded in your character.
You only have to see the rate of divorce in cricket. You're away so much and then 18 months later, you're around all the time and not sure what to do with the rest of your life. You go from being at the peak of your powers to being at the bottom of the food chain.
Who says we can't win the World Cup and the Ashes in the same year? Oh yes we can. It all goes back to my motto in life: Be proud of how far you've come - and have faith in how far you can still go.
I think it's something you learn over a period of time; you learn to be more comfortable within yourself, appreciative of what you've got and what you haven't, you realise the talents you have and what you can do and you take on the chin the things that you have to. It's part and parcel of growing up.
People don't actually see what's gone on behind the scenes - the hard work, when you're doing your rehab, when you're sleeping on an ice machine - and yet they have an opinion on it.
It's all well and good when it's going good and people have an opinion on how well you're playing, but it's the hidden things they don't see.
You look at the challenges that have been put in front of me as a cricketer over a period of time. There have been quite a few. I'd like to think I've come through most of them.
I've not given up my keeping, I want to make that very, very clear. I'm still working hard on my keeping and it's something I still want to do.
Most people believe their family is special. I know mine is.
I'm a bit taller too because I've got Mum's legs and Dad was a bit more squat and well-built than me. My brother Andrew is a bit more like Dad.
If you can't motivate yourself to get up and play in front of 30,000-40,000 people, then you're not in the right job.
You're able to learn different things from different coaches and different players.
Mum never made an excuse, even when she had cancer and had a lot on her plate. You have to have huge admiration for the way she brought us up.
You think of what might have been different if dad had been around, or how I might have turned out as a person. You just don't know. I might not even be playing cricket.
You go out onto the playing field every time to win and you will do all you can to do that, but not at all costs and especially not to cheat.
If your game is to take everything on then you have to stick with that and if it's your game to get out of the way of the short ball then that's what you do.
I do enjoy fielding in the deep and I enjoy engaging with the crowd.
It's important to have a smile with spectators but it's not always possible.
In an Ashes series you have to adapt quickly to the conditions and your rivals. If you don't, you get found out.
