For decades, running a mile in less than four minutes was considered impossible, beyond the physical capacity of the human body. But in 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old British medical student, proved this belief wrong by running a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds on the Iffley Road track in Oxford, England in front of 3,000 spectators.
More amazing than the achievement itself was the aftermath.
Though for years, runners had tried without success to break the four minute mile, within six weeks of Bannister’s achievement, the record was broken again. Within a few years, the mile had been run in less than four minutes hundreds of times.
The runners hadn’t broken through a physical barrier, but a mental one, a belief about their abilities as concrete and insurmountable as a solid brick wall.
Beautiful someone, what’s your four-minute mile?
What beliefs about yourself — maybe what fears — have created the illusion of a barrier that’s holding you back, limiting the possibilities for your life?
- “I can’t write.”
- “I would never speak in front of a group.”
- “Everyone in my family is terrible at relationships.”
- “I could never go back to school.”
- “I’ve got no self-control.”
- “I’m terrible with money.”
- “I can NOT dance.”
They’re not real
Seth Norrholm, a translational neuroscientist at Emory University, has studied the human acoustic startle reflex: when we hear loud sounds, we react with a kind of fight or flight response. We’re instantly alarmed and ready to act to protect ourselves.
This reflex is triggered by one of the only two fears we’re born with: fear of falling and fear of loud sounds. We are afraid of heights, and we jump at loud noises. This circuitry is wired into us at birth, most likely as a defense mechanism that protects us from harm.
But wow: the rest of our fears are learned. We’re not born afraid of the dark, spiders, snakes, social situations, sickness, job loss, breakups, public speaking, financial challenges. We learn to dread these things, most likely from a combination of forces: media, parents, experiences…
We’re the boss
So what can we do with this information, beautiful someone? We can realize that 99 percent of our fears are under our control. We’re the boss of them! They answer to us, so let’s interrogate them…literally. Let’s put them on the witness stand and give them the third degree with questions like:
- “What exactly am I afraid of?”
- “Is it really as dangerous as my mind is making it out to be?”
- “Why do I believe this about myself?”
- “How did I acquire this belief? Is it based on reliable information?”
I could go on…for a very (very) long time. (Asking questions is my superpower!) But the idea is simple: so many of our preconceptions and fears would just whither under this kind of questioning.
They have no rational basis
They are just ghostly images in our heads that wield too much power over our thoughts and energy. They pound our courage. They make us obsess over nothing. They devour our time. They limit our potential.
BUT when we put words and facts around them, we see they have no connection to reality.
More to the point, they take so much from us. But they’re not going to get away with this anymore! We’re demanding facts, figures, experiences, reality.
Give these limiting preconceptions the third degree, then kick ’em to the curb, and it’s you, beautiful 2.0, with possibilities around every corner.
#MindsetMatters #Seewhatspossible #ManifestingMagic #SuccessMindset