“If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are probably right.” Henry Ford.

I was very sorry to hear that Sir Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under four minutes has died at the aged of 88.

His time of three minutes 59.4 seconds, set at Iffley Road sports ground in Oxford on 6 May 1954, stood as a record for just 46 days. However, his place in athletics history was assured.

I featured Sir Roger’s feat in my book “Be First Class” in a chapter titled “Your beliefs drive your results” and I have included extracts in this piece.

Sir Roger Bannister helped to change conventional wisdom and beliefs that people held by breaking the four minute mile record.

Prior to the race and his attempt to smash this barrier people had urged him not to try it. They had told him it was dangerous and life threatening. However, he ignored all this advice and successfully broke the record.

Once he had achieved this, four runners broke the record within a year because they knew that it was possible and could be done. Following Bannister’s achievement, athletes changed their beliefs. They told themselves they could do it and as a result their bodies performed more effectively. The current record was set in 1999 at three minutes, 43.13 seconds (16 seconds less than the original record).

Our beliefs have a pivotal role in the results that we achieve in life and help to shape and influence our behaviour.

Whatever we believe dictates how we respond to situations and determines how we relate to the people that we meet and interact with.

If you believe that you will achieve a goal no matter what life throws at you, then you are more likely to do just that than someone who believes they can never have what they really want.

Most of our beliefs about ourselves and how the world operates are formed in early childhood. They are shaped by our parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, past experiences, media, culture, peers, friends & religion. Aside from physical differences, it is our different experiences and beliefs that make us all unique. Often we don’t realise what our beliefs consist of or how they have been formed but they influence every moment of every day.

Every belief has a structure to it which we can change if we choose to. It is like carrying a recording in our heads. If the recording is working for us, we can keep it and maybe update it occasionally. However, if the recording is limiting us, we can take it out and re- record it, so we have one that is working for us.

We accept opinions from influential people in our lives and hold them as facts, however, they aren’t facts but perceptions formed through our experience and others views. Beliefs are views about us, others and the world. These views determine the decisions we take and the way we behave. If we want to change our results in life then the process starts with changing our beliefs.

Beliefs determine how we think and how we talk to ourselves (our self talk) and this determines how we behave. If we are overly self- critical or hard on ourselves then we will not necessarily enjoy the journey towards a particular goal. We will feel stressed, anxious and frustrated from time to time.

However, if our self talk is kinder, more encouraging and positive then the journey will be a more enjoyable one. We will feel better and as a result behave more confidently and our results are more likely to be more positive.

There are two types of belief:

We can have empowering ones which help us to believe that we can achieve. They propel us forward towards our goals and help us to feel confident and good about ourselves.

Alternatively, we can have limiting beliefs. These hold us back, hinder our progress and negatively impact our confidence levels. They mean we get in our own way.

There are countless examples of beliefs missing the point. Many said photocopiers, telephones and computers would not catch on. Look how those beliefs tuned out!

It’s vital that we continue to challenge beliefs that we have and ensure they are working positively for us. All of us have the power and control over our beliefs which shape our self talk/thoughts, behaviour and ultimately our results in life. Sir Roger Bannister proved that barriers are to be broken and that there are no limits

It’s important that we’re aware of the thoughts in our head such as “I can’t do this, it’s just too hard” as what we think about becomes our reality. We can decide to make our self talk more positive and this will improve our mood and performance levels.

This week, why not take a few moments out to reflect and consider what beliefs you hold empower or limit your performance. Are you motivated to change any of your beliefs?

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk ;