Challenge Yourself

Every once in a while it is good to go a little beyond what you know you can do.   If you are a runner and you are used to running 10 miles a day, go out and run 13 some time.  If you lift weights and you have a steady routine, pick a day and raise all your weight 5 pounds.

Ever heard of Roger Bannister?   He was the 1^st man to run a mile in under 4 minutes.   Through 1954 no one had ever run that fast for 1 mile.   In fact most people held the 4 minute mark as some number that for humans would be physically impossible.  In the 1952 Olympics Bannister had a subpar, by his standards, outing and took two months or so and really consider quitting.  He thought about never running again.   But then he snapped out of it and set out to be the 1^st person to break the 4 minute mile.      He ran a 3 minute 59.4 second mile.   Whew.    Funny thing was, not only was the 4 minute mile attainable, his record didn’t even last through the end of the year.   Before 1954 was over John Landy ran 1 mile in 3 hours and 58 minutes.

The point here is that had Roger Bannister pushed himself to do something no one thought was possible.  Once the myth of the 4 minute mile was broken others started running, all because they knew it could be done.

Think about what you do in your comfort zone and then push yourself to get better.  Break out of your routine, stretch yourself physically and mentally.  The more you do this the more flexible you will become.   Quite often you will surprise yourself.   I’ll be you are capable of far more than you realize.  If you stay in your comfort zone all the time you may never progress as a person.  Challenge yourself!