Are you underestimating yourself?
Roger Bannister, a neurologist and an athlete, is famous for being the first person to run a mile in under four minutes.
Before Bannister accomplished this feat on 6 May 1954, athletes worldwide had been trying to break the 4-minute-mile barrier for decades. Even elite athletes working with the best experts and coaches had been unable to succeed. The task was physically intimidating, for sure, but when no one was able to do it, it became psychologically daunting too. What if it wasn’t possible to run a 4-minute-mile?
But then, 25 years old Roger, who was a full-time student at the time, went ahead and broke the record. He ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
The truly astonishing part is what happened after that.
Just 46 days later, an Australian runner — John Landy — broke Roger Bannister’s record. A record that had seemed out of reach for decades.
Soon after that, a bunch of other athletes ran a mile in under 4-minutes.
With Bannister’s accomplishment, what had seemed impossible suddenly became possible.
Since Bannister broke the record for the first time, over a thousand athletes have run a mile in under 4 minutes.
How could that be? Did humans develop higher physical capacity in a short span of time? Or did we just not know what we were capable of?
We all have our versions of the 4-minute-mile.
I can’t lose weight.
I could never have that job.
I will never be able to forgive that person.
I am never going to have enough money.
It’s simply not possible.
But, what if it was?
It had always been possible to run a 4-minute-mile. People couldn’t do it because it seemed impossible until they saw someone do it. And suddenly, they could do it too.
Think about something you want, something you currently believe is impossible for you to have or accomplish or be.
Now, ask yourself: what if it was possible?
What if, like the other athletes, you simply don’t know what you’re capable of?
And as a next step, find your own Roger Bannister. Who has already done what seems impossible to you? What can you learn from them? How can you make your impossible possible?
The belief in a possibility can open doors we couldn’t see before.
I invite you to consider the possibilities.