The Bannister Effect
Before 1954, the concept of running a sub-4-minute mile was thought to be impossible. People said it could never be done. That if any human did it they would keel over and die from a heart attack.
But, guess what happened?
On May 6th, 1954 Roger Bannister ran a sub 4-minute mile.
And then six weeks later another runner did it.
Today more than 1700 runners have broken the 4-minute barrier.
The Bannister Effect was created based on this concept. The goal that was once thought to be impossible is shown to be possible and then more people achieve it.
We see this play out all around us in different ways.
We see someone we know go out and start their own business and believe that we can too.
We see someone we know go to the gym and gain muscle, and believe we can too.
We see someone we know buy a house and believe we can too.
What makes the Bannister Effect interesting is that nothing changes about your ability to succeed in these goals. You were able to start a business, gain muscle and, buy a house the entire time, you just didn't believe you could. Your mindset shifted from “This is impossible” to “This is possible because I have seen other people do it.”
We can use the learnings from the Bannister Effect to change our default from “This is impossible” to “This is possible.” If you go into challenges with the belief that you can win, and you can achieve your goals you will invariably increase your odds of doing so.