Your mindset can be the reason you succeed or fail in almost anything; fitness-related or not.

Here’s a famous example of limiting beliefs…

It was long believed to be physically impossible for a human being to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Runners had tried for decades but not a single one had managed to break that elusive mark.

That was until 1954, when an Oxford University medical student managed to run a mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. His name (I’m sure you’ll already know this), was Roger Bannister.

Roger Bannister managed to achieve a goal runners had tried for 89 years to achieve (race times started to be recorded in 1865, hence the 89 years).

So what stopped other runners from doing the same?

Limiting beliefs. That’s all.

Here is the evidence…

By the end of 1957, a mere three years after Bannister broke the 4 minute mile, a total of 16 runners had done the same. A feat previously believed to be impossible was now commonplace.

Those figures again…

It took 89 years for a single person to run a 4 minute mile. Just 3 years later, 16 had done it.

All of these runners were rivals of Roger Bannister – some of them regularly beating him in competition.

So if they were occasionally faster than him, why hadn’t they done it?

Their limiting beliefs. They didn’t believe they could. Accepted wisdom of the time was that you couldn’t break 4 minutes for a mile. Only Bannister believed it and he did it, paving the way for others.

Having seen the 4 minute mile be broken, the other runners changed their psychology. They saw what was possible and managed to improve their performance. The difference wasn’t physical – they were every bit as good as Bannister; it was mental – they just didn’t possess his psychology until he proved what was possible.

Only then did they believe they could do it.

At the time of writing, 1338 runners have broken the 4 minute mile barrier. The current world record stands at 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds. The 4 minute mile hasn’t just been broken, it’s been smashed.

It’s something for you to bear in mind when you come up against struggles with your fitness. Whether you are just starting off or are struggling to achieve a goal you’ve chased for a while, believe you can do it and keep trying.

There’s a good chance it’s all in your head.

Only last week I managed to lift a weight I’d been chasing for a long time….

Keep trying!

By the way, if you’re interested in the Roger Bannister story, you can check out his autobiography here…

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