One of the benefits of starting an exercise program — and sticking with it — is increased self-confidence and self-esteem.
When you look better, you feel better.
It’s just a fact.
During my morning routine a while back, I was listening to a motivational-type speaker and he was talking about how he motivated people to try things they were afraid to try. He said he got them to do something they didn’t think they could do, and to illustrate the power of the mind, he talked about the example of the great UK runner, Roger Bannister, the first man to break the four-minute mile, way back in the 1950s.
Up until that time, it was believed that man was not physically capable of running a mile in under four minutes. Some even said that anyone who attempted to do so would literally die.
Bannister himself came close to breaking the 4-minute barrier, but was never quite able to do it. Then, he began visualizing himself crossing the finish line in just under four minutes.
It worked.
In May 1954, he crossed the finish line in a race in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds.
And after Bannister accomplished his historic feat, many other runners began to do that same thing. In fact, the new record lasted just 46 days. Running a mile in under four minutes is now routine, and the world record for the mile now stands at 3:43:13.
You ever heard the famous quote by Henry Ford?
“Whether you think you can or you think you can’t … you’re right.”
Amen.
Roger Bannister