"The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible."
- Charles Kingsleigh
Once the seemingly impossible is achieved, it opens the door to unlimited possibilities. Case in point: The Wright brothers were heavily mocked and criticized until they accomplished their first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Now we fly rockets into outer space. We have humans living 54 miles above the Earth in the International Space Station, when just over 100 years ago, an airplane was a ridiculous and even impossible idea for many people to fathom.
Case in point 2: Running a mile under four minutes was this elusive feat not achieved until 1954 by Roger Bannister. A month later, someone else did it. Over the next two years, nine other people broke four minutes. Since then, over 1,600 athletes have run a mile under four minutes. This phenomenon where the impossible suddenly becomes all too possible has been attributed to a psychological breakthrough termed the Bannister Effect. Essentially, we remove those limiting beliefs from our mind.
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It makes complete sense. How can we accomplish something we do not believe is possible? People constantly talk themselves out of ideas or pursuits because they do not believe it is possible, or they give up on their belief if they are not getting the results they desire quick enough. Difficult does not equal impossible. Whether it's working toward a dream as lofty as breaking a four minute mile, or as basic as running your own business, anything is possible when you believe in yourself and your vison.
What seemingly impossible idea or pursuit has been sitting on your backburner? Is it impossible or improbable? If it's just improbable, what's holding you back? We make things possible by believing in ourselves and believing in our mission. At the first sign of, "I can't do this," or "This is not going to work," you have already thrown in the towel. We have to believe it is possible in order for it to be so. The rest requires determination, persistence and an unwavering commitment to our mission. That's how we make it possible.