How Can We Unleash Our Potential?

I believe some of us have certain untapped potential that has yet to be fully unleashed. The reason for this is because we’re constantly in some sort of belief that is so ever-present, so ubiquitous that we are literally blinded by it. The fact that we have gone to space goes to show that the sky is not the limit. I am for the idea that if we fight for our limitations, we get to keep them. Sir Roger Bannister is a perfect example of someone who fought for his limitation.

He did not do it to impress anyone, he did it to express what can be done.

For the longest time ever, there was a common belief that the human body was simply not capable of completing one-mile (1.6 km) under 4 minutes. The human body couldn’t physically go that fast, and if it did, it would collapse under immense pressure — we would die. The belief was so widespread and influential that it led to many people thinking that it was crazy to even try breaking the barrier. In the end, most people were too afraid to test if the myth was true. Some athletes tried, failed and they gave up almost immediately. Only a small group of people viewed their failure as feedback, and they were in it for the long haul.

They were hell-bent on the “what-if”.

The belief was impossible, until one man broke the record. That man was Sir Roger Bannister. Through his performance, he showed the power in the persistence and passion of the human mind. Through his performance, he showed that it was more of a psychological barrier than it was a physical barrier. He had a breakthrough, not only of himself, but of the entire human history. On May 6, 1954, Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to break the 4-minute barrier, running the distance in 3:59.4. It was impossible, until he did it. What is even more amazing is that barely after his achievement, Sir Roger Bannister’s achievement was broken.

Only 46 days after he became the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes, Australia’s John Landy broke Bannister’s world record with a time of 3:57:9.

Now, look around us. Even the average track and field high school kid can break the 4-minute barrier. This story sets such a profound example in showcasing the depth of human capability. Most of the time, we will not have the resounding clarity that we are doing things right. But we will be more confident when we do our due diligence. With courage and confidence comes competency. With a long enough timeline and the obsession to turn up the volume on our dreams, we go from wishing, dreaming, hoping to eventually knowing after we’ve accomplished it. The story of Sir Roger Bannister is absolutely applicable to each one of us. All of us can do it, but the problem is not all of us believe in ourselves to do so. The first step in unleashing our potential is to believe that we can unleash it. Dig deep, do we believe in ourselves?