On May 6th,1954, Roger Bannister ran the first sub 4 minute mile. The fastest mile time of 4 minutes and 1.3 seconds had been held for years, with many people trying unsuccessfully to beat it. The general consensus was that it couldn't be done. But Roger, a 25 year old medical student, decided to study the mechanics of running and try some new training methods.
The day of his race was rainy and windy (some of the least favored running conditions!), but Roger had prepared both his mind and body and successfully achieved his goal. His goal was eventually broken by many runners because Roger didn't listen to why it couldn't be done but instead set the pace. đââď¸
My personal goal isn't to run a 4 minute mile (whew! đ°), but this does challenge me to think about what limitations I have set for myself that could be broken. God has created our minds and bodies to strive and achieve against difficult circumstances. We are always stronger and capable of more then we think. Somewhere in life I chose to make my goals and dreams smaller. Maybe I got that from the SMART goal acronym, which is backed by a lot of research and results. Or maybe I just got lazy or didn't want to be disappointed.
But I think more disappointment comes from living small then from dreaming and going after what I really feel is my purpose for today. So I am going to set some new goals, even though it's not January. I would share them with you, but I am just on the first part of my process so I haven't defined them. I do know they will be multi-faceted, because each part of life affects the others. I need a new fitness goal, a new intellectual goal, a new spiritual goal (not sure if goal is the right term for that one), and some new relational goals. Maybe you do too!?
Fitness is a journey that is meant to be challenging and fun. Let's dream BIG and go after our goals!