How to dispel limiting beliefs

When a man ran faster than humanly possible

Until 1954, it was considered to be fact that humans were incapable of running a mile any faster than 4 minutes.

Doctors and scientists at the time said that anyone who attempted the feat would not only fail, but probably injure themselves and may even die in the attempt.

And so for ten years, the world record mile time remained stuck at 4:01.4.

But there was one runner who didn’t believe the hype around the 4 minute mark. A neurology student, he figured this barrier was all in the mind.

And one dreary spring day in Oxford, London in front of a small crowd of about 1,200 people, Roger Bannister did the impossible. He completed a mile in 3:59.4.

It had taken 10 years to beat the previous world record and do the impossible. But only 46 days after Bannister did it, John Landy set a new world record at 3:58.

One year later, three runners broke the 4-minute barrier, during the same race.

Today, upwards of 1,500 people have run a sub-4 minute mile.

People had been pursuing the goal adamantly since as early as 1886 to no avail. But as soon as Banister proved it was possible, suddenly all of these other runners were able to do it.

But it wasn’t due to some new technique or piece of equipment. It was because Bannister proved that it was possible. And this freed the minds of those who followed him to believe the impossible was in fact possible.

What if you too are creating psychological barriers to success?

Beyond just setting a new world record, Banister’s achievement was so notable for dispelling what had become an incredibly widespread limiting belief with regards to human physical ability.

A limiting belief is just what it sounds like: a belief that limits the scope of the possible.

Some limiting beliefs are beneficial, say the belief that you can’t jump off a cliff and flap your arms to fly. But tragically, most limiting beliefs are false, are self-imposed, and prevent us from achieving our true potential.

They’re really just negative thought loops that tricks us into believing something which isn’t actually true and artificially limit us from achieving what is otherwise within our grasp.

These patterns often stem from ideas picked up from others - parents, friends, social media - and then over time they become ingrained in how we think, without us even knowing it.

They can relate to the small, day to day:

🌧️ “If I ask this clarifying question, the team is going to think I’m an idiot.”

They can relate to bigger life decisions we are thinking about making:

🌧️ “I’ve applied to ten jobs without an interview. No firm will ever want to hire me. I guess I better aim lower.”

They can relate to our entire self-identity:

🌧️ “I’m not the type of person that would do well in a leadership position. I’m very different from the other managers at this company.”

They can even relate to the world at large:

🌧️ “It’s impossible for someone like me to succeed in this world. It’s just the way it is.”

You can probably find a million reasons why any given belief like this is true. You might have real world evidence showing how it’s been proven true in the past. You can probably write a whole damned thesis on why in your specific scenario, they are in fact valid beliefs.

But what if you’re wrong?

Roger Bannister had plenty of evidence showing that breaking a 4-minute mile was impossible. More accomplished runners than him hadn’t been able to do so in over half a century. Doctors and scientists gave good reason for why it couldn’t be done.

But Roger wouldn’t take no for an answer. He questioned the commonly held belief about a 4-minute barrier. As he slowly, but steadily increased his mile time over the years, he became convinced that it could be broken. So he ran with the belief that he could. And he did.

But limiting beliefs affect more than just athletic achievement. As we explored above, they can also affect our ability to perform in the workplace. They can affect our career trajectories. They can affect our relationships. And they can affect how we view ourselves as people.

Luckily, they are easy to change once we are on the lookout for them.

A world of possibility is yours for the price of a thought

Questioning a limiting belief is as simple as considering a better alternative. Take our examples from above.

At work:

🌧️ Limiting Belief: “If I ask this clarifying question, the team is going to think I’m an idiot.”

☀️ Alternative: “If this question allows me to produce higher quality work, the team will appreciate my initiative in asking it.”

Applying to jobs:

 🌧️ Limiting Belief: “I’ve applied to ten jobs without an interview. No firm will ever want to hire me. I guess I better aim lower.”

☀️ Alternative: “Ten applications is nothing in the big scheme of things. I just haven’t applied to enough firms yet. Let me apply to 40 more, and try different approaches to see what works. ”

On leadership:

🌧️ Limiting Belief: “I’m not the type of person that would do well in a leadership position. I’m very different from the other managers at this company.”

☀️ Alternative: “People succeed with many different leadership styles, I just need to find the one that works well for me.”

About how the world works:

 🌧️ Limiting Belief: “It’s impossible for someone like me to succeed in this world. It’s just the way it is.”

☀️ Alternative: “Countless people throughout history have overcome insurmountable obstacles to success. It might not be easy, but success is possible for me too.”

Questioning limiting beliefs isn’t always easy, but catching even one can make a massive difference in your life.

And you don’t need to spend all day, every day, questioning everything.

But you’d probably benefit from questioning things a little more often than you currently do.

Especially when you have a belief that’s stopping you from doing something that would have a major impact on your life.

Wild success may be closer than you think.

Don’t let your own limiting beliefs hold you back.

What’s the “four minute mile” in your life that warrants a second look?