It was on this week (May the 6th actually) in 1954 that Richard Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student in Oxford, England became the first person recorded to have run a mile in less than four minutes. He finished the mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Until then, many thought the four-minute barrier was impossible to break and some even thought it would overwork the athlete to the point of death. It did not, of course. Bannister didn’t hold the record for long though. After demonstrating that it could be done he broke the psychological barrier for many other athletes who would break the four-minute barrier in his wake. He stands as a testament that the mind can subdue the body into false limitations, but with dedication and focus we can use the mind to our advantage to reach beyond those limitations and into higher strata of achievement.
I don’t personally identify with Roger Bannister ( I can’t imagine myself being the first to knock down significant world record barriers – which is probably a personal problem I need to deal with!) But I can more easily identify with all those guys who broke the 4 minute mile after the mental barrier had been broken. I know I have limits…and I also know that I have rarely if ever come close to reaching them…or realizing my potential. Why? Because of other limits….the ones I have placed on myself or have allowed others to place on me. (Emphasis on “have allowed”).
What’s holding you back?
What limits have you placed on yourself or allowed others to place on you?
What would you do or strive to become if you knew you could not fail?
“If you want to reach a goal, you must ’see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal” Zig Ziglar
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