When it comes to making serious changes in lifestyle, things are easier said than done. Anyone knows how easily new years resolutions are broken and how many people say they’re going to lose weight, get fit and never manage it. There’s a million and one reasons for this, but one of the main ones is this - people lack the mental toughness to stay disciplined.
The reality is that the only real way to build mental toughness is to do progressively harder things. To build up a bank experiences that prove to you that ‘yes’, you can do something.
Once you have proof that something can be done, it’s amazing how much easier it is the second time around. I’ll give you a famous example - the four minute mile. What people think of as a physical challenge, was actually a mental challenge that was the result of setbacks over the years. The four minutes was the culmination of years of physical training and developing a mental toughness rarely found in others.
Mental Toughness Over 4 Minutes
For years, the four minute mile was an elusive goal. Many people believed that it wasn’t possible, that the human body simply wasn't capable at propelling itself at that speed for so long. Many had tried, but every single one of them had failed. The best athletes in the world at the time had come close, but didn’t quite make it.
Until 6th May, 1954.
Roger Bannister had tried unsuccessfully to break the four minute mile barrier, but today was going to be different.
Weather conditions were awful at the start of the day - windy and rainy. He could have pulled out, but thankfully before the race started conditions made a turn for the better. The wind dropped and the rain stopped.
Under starters orders, the race set off at a solid pace at the Iffley Road Track at Oxford University.
He powered on, helped by the pacemakers and fellow competitors. As the distance covered grew, everyone in the stadium knew it would be close - Bannister had gotten close plenty of times before, but 1/100th of a second over was a failure. It was all or nothing.
As he approached the finish line of the attempt, everyone knew it was going to be so, so tight. The clocked ticked and as he crossed the finish line, there was the inevitable delay to ratify the time, until the stadium announcer confirmed…
3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. A new world record.
Bannister had done it, he’d become the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. He’d achieved what many believed was physically impossible.
The Mental Toughness Aspect
Was Bannister any fitter that day than he was previously? Possibly, but it’s unlikely he’d have been that much fitter. He was an elite athlete, in constant training towards his goal. He’d suffered setbacks plenty of times - in competition and training, he’d tried to run the mile in 4 minutes but failed.
And still he carried on.
Eventually, he achieved his goal. It was a ground-breaking moment, but what interests me most is what happened afterwards….
Since the 4 minute mile was broken, a further 1400 athletes have managed to accomplish it. Within weeks of the achievement, it was broken again by Bannister and the Australian John Landy in the same race - the first time that had ever happened!
Something that was seen as impossible by experts at the time was achieved. Once those floodgates were open, dozens more followed suit within months. They saw it was possible, their psychology changed and they performances changed as a result.
The current record is 3.43.13, held by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco - nearly SEVENTEEN seconds faster than the original 4 minute mile!
So What’s Your Point?
You can take these lessons and apply them to your own life. Think of a goal you’ve never thought you could achieve - it could be a dream body, it could be running a marathon or something else.
Ask yourself what’s holding you back? Can we at AdMac Fitness help? Get in touch and let’s see if we can help you achieve the fitness and physique goals that have help you back for so long….