On May 6, 1954, in Oxford, England, 25 year old Roger Bannister broke the most notorious sporting barrier – the four minute mile. For many years athletes tried and failed to break four minutes for the mile. The record of 4 minutes 1.3 seconds was set in 1945 and as each year passed without breaking the record the psychological mystique surrounding the four minute barrier increased. For Roger it was the run of a lifetime. For others it was now a goal that could be attained. And as you might expect once this mental barrier had been conquered, the Roger Bannister record was broken and increasingly the best runners were breaking the four minute mark on a regular basis.

And, for those of us living THPL, I would venture to say that we if we are honest with ourselves, we suffer from the four minute mile effect. We have built mental and physical barriers and constraints to our progress. We find both active and passive ways to prevent ourselves from addressing the issue. It matters little if our challenge is of Life, Learning or Fitness we first must acknowledge what we want to accomplish and what we have to do to break through. It does not mean you have to break each barrier on the first time – it just means you have to set the goal and leave the constraints behind. Then in earnest go for it. My bet is you will break through before you know it. I suggest you write down a few of your barriers, tell others you are going to break through, and then give it a go. Success is a short distance away. Have fun – I know I have following this exact approach and it has worked like a charm and 2013 is no exception.

Loving life and breaking through

Ciao

Joe