In the spring of 1954, Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in under 4 minutes. Three minutes and 59.4 seconds to be exact. Before he did this, breaking a four-minute mile had been considered impossible – completely beyond the physical limits of the human body.

Was he successful because he possessed superhuman ability?  No, he was successful because he was a believer. Roger Bannister chose to set aside the widely accepted belief that it wasn’t possible. He saw himself running a mile in under four minutes.  He rehearsed the race in his mind’s eye until he truly believed that he could do it. He believed that he really could break the four-minute mile. The rest is history!

And Roger’s belief set off an even more interesting dynamic. Within seven months of setting the new record, thirty-seven others followed him.  Within the following three years, another 300 athletes ran the mile in under 4 minutes.

What was thought impossible was now in the realm of completely achievable.  But what happened to those other runners who ran before Roger?  Did their lack of belief limit them and cause them to pass-up on an incredible opportunity? 

Are you letting a limited belief of what you can do and accomplish, stop you from reaching your goals and dreams?

When you believe you can’t do something, you are right – and you won’t.  When you believe it is possible, you will awake dormant resources within yourself and find the opportunities and circumstances that help make it a reality. You also influence everyone around you – your belief and positive attitude  will set off an infectious chain of accomplishment.

In his diary Roger Bannister wrote:

"I tried to establish this “now or never” attitude because I knew that unless I was successful in attaining this attitude, I would perhaps lose my chance by letting myself fall prey to the mental reaction so common to athletes — that is, that there would always be a next time of deciding, perhaps, that this is not the day.”

Follow these 4 steps  for breaking through your own personal barriers:

1. Decide that today is the day
2. Believe that your goal is possible for you to achieve
3. Get resourceful
4. Take action

To be successful you need to decide that today is the day.  Today you will believe in your ability, you will take on a can-do attitude, and you will set in motion the actions you need to accomplish your dreams. 

To your success!