For years people believed it was impossible. It was impossible that a man could run a mile in under four minutes. Doctors and Scientists said that the human body could not possibly achieve such a feat; some suggested that the body would break apart before such a speed could be reached. Everyone agreed: the four minute mile was not possible.
One Man Believed
Well, not quite everyone. After breaking the 1500m record (the mile is 1600m) Roger Bannister started to believe. He started to believe that the four minute mile could be broken. And that belief made all the difference. It led to increased training and an all out effort to break the barrier.
History Was Made in 1954
Then on May 6, 1954 Roger Bannister made history. Roger Bannister had done it. He had broken the four minute mile; a barrier thought impossible. Now he had proven that it could be done. Other people now had the evidence that the four minute mile could be broken. Other people had the belief.
In the days and years that followed, that belief turned into results:
- Just 46 days later Jim Landry of Australia broke the record again.
- Less than two months after that both Landry and Bannister both broke four minutes in the same race
- Since then thousands of people have run the mile in under four minutes
- In the next 30 years the record was broken 16 more times
- The record now stands at 3 minutes and 43 seconds
- Even high school students have broken the four minute mile
- In 1997 Daniel Komen of Kenya doubled the feat running TWO miles in LESS THAN EIGHT minutes.
Each of these feats took Roger Bannister breaking the record to show the way. To show them that it was possible. To break the barrier that others had put up. Once the barrier was broken by Bannister, everyone else followed suit.
Mental Barriers Keep Us In Ordinary Lives
Scientists believe that the barrier to reaching the four minute mile was a physical barrier. It was not. It was a mental barrier. No one broke the four minute mile, in part because no one thought it was possible. Certainly it wasn’t easy, but it was possible.
The same is often true for our goals. What we think we can’t achieve is really only a mental barrier, not a physical barrier. If you believe in your abilities you can achieve far more than you imagine.
What is your four minute mile? It is likely something that you think you can’t do. A goal you think you can’t reach. It is mental. To break through and beat your four minute mile you need to start by believing. Believe that it is possible. Once you have that belief you will still need to work hard. You will need to train, face criticism and push through the pain. But by surrounding yourself with a support team and persevering, you can break your four minute mile.
from What is Your Four Minute Mile?
Did You Know
- I am certain that it is my calling to demonstrate that I can have the body of my dreams (lean, fit and healthy in peak condition) by trusting my body and being in a positive, loving, thankful state whenever I eat or think about my physical shape. Scientists and doctors may say that the human body is not capable of such a thing. I am here to do the impossible so that all women who are enslaved to the diet mentality can believe and do it too. They called Roger Bannister crazy as well!