Is Your Mindset Holding You Back?

On May 6th 1954 Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.  The 4 minute mile, one of the biggest holy grails of athletic achievement that had been pursued since 1886, finally fell. 

For 68 years thousands of the best runners in the world pursued this magical mark.  All had failed. 

After Bannister defied the odds on a wet track that day some thought it might never be repeated.  However, just 46 days later John Landy of Australia bested Bannister’s time and brought it down to 3 minutes and 58 seconds. 

A year after that three runners broke the 4-minute mile in a single race!

So it took 68 years and thousands of the best runners in the world to finally do it, then a year later three people did it in a single race.  Did all of these runners suddenly become stronger physically, or undergo some mysterious genetic mutation? 

No.

What changed was in their mind.  Bannister showed them what could be done, that it wasn’t impossible. 

The brain has an amazing ability to control the body.  The science of placebos show this all the time.  It’s actually incredible, almost unbelievable. 

 

Half Empty

I’ll be honest, I haven’t always had the best mindset in life.  My family history and childhood seemed littered with misfortune and bad luck.  When I traveled to a third world country for the first time I got some perspective.  We’re all privileged in America. 

But that experience still didn’t help my confidence when it came to achievement.  All too often when faced with a tough challenge in life I’d see the glass as half empty.  “I doubt I could do that”, I would sometimes say when seeing someone else’s success. 

It wasn’t until I became a runner myself did I fully understand the power the mind really has.  When I started doing long races like half and full marathons in my early 30’s it became clear. 

In every single race my body started shutting down with about two or three miles to go.  It was clear what was happening.  My brain knew there wasn’t much suffering left and was starting to tell my body “it’s almost over”.  Up until then while in the heart of the race the brain is digging in and telling the body “stay strong, don’t let up, we’re going to be here awhile”. 

That mindset in turn keeps the body going and producing the energy to complete the task.   But simply knowing the finish is near and the suffering is close to ending elicits a response in the body.  

I recently heard a podcast where a famous ultra runner put it a different way.  He said:

“Imagine you’re coming down the home stretch of a 100-mile run and you can barely make it.  You’re on fumes, and every step is agony.  You’re barely moving.  Then imagine someone released a bear from a cage behind you.  I guarantee you’ll start running, fast.  Much of that would be adrenaline, but that’s the point, it’s from the mind.  You think your muscles are maxed out and you have nothing left, but there’s actually more”.

So how to you tap into the power of a positive mindset to achieve a goal? 

Start reading about and getting inspired by those who have achieved what you want to do. 

Especially those who have faced similar circumstances to yours. 

Imagine the reaction of all those elite runners around the world when they heard the news of Bannister’s achievement in 1954.  There was probably a mixture of amazement and respect, but also jealousy. 

The moment those runners heard the news something clicked in their brain.  I have no idea how it works and science probably doesn’t either, but something changed for sure. 

For elite athletes competition no doubt plays a part.  But surely the news was also motivating and inspiring.  Bannister gave them hope.  And the next time they hit the track they went in with a different mindset.

 

Find Your Bannister

Do you doubt you can achieve financial independence?

…..with kids?  Lots of kids.

On teacher salaries?

Do you think it’s impossible to pay back $200,000 in student loans?

Don you think it’s impossible to live on less than 30,000 a year?  How about $10,000?

Can you rebound financially after spending time in prison?

All of these things are possible as the links clearly show.  They’ve been done.

 

One Part Of The Equation

It’s not always the case that your mindset is solely holding you back though. Life is complex and any number of things could be preventing you from achieving a goal.  But don’t just accept limitations that you may think are in place. 

The 4 minute mile was possible, and so is financial independence.  Get inspired by those who’ve done it.

I’m no guru.  I’m not even close to having this figured out in life and still struggle with mindset all the time.  Sure I have achieved financial independence but there’s so much more I want to do. 

I want to scale my graphic arts business to something bigger but have a nagging voice that doubts.  And that’s despite the fact that I keep experiencing steady growth! 

It’s not like achieving my goal is the equivalent of the 4 minute mile in 1953, where no one has actually done it before.  There are tons of examples of people killing it with graphic design companies and freelancing. 

I just need to change my mindset.  So I’m on this journey with you. 

Let’s get inspired by those who are showing us what’s possible.  And let’s allow their achievements to change our mindset.