What does the “Bannister Effect” mean to you? We’re not talking about the type of bannister that you hold onto as you go down stairs.  We’re referring to the effect named after Dr. Roger Bannister. 

Whether or not you’re a sports enthusiast, you may recognize the name of Roger Bannister. He was the first person to break the four-minute mile on May 6, 1954, in a time of three minutes fifty-nine and four tenths seconds (3 min 59.4 sec). Up to that point, the popular opinion was that it was physically impossible to accomplish that feat. However, Bannister never believed that limitation. He felt that someone should be able to run a mile two seconds faster than the previous world record.

What’s of interest is that once the seemingly impossible four-minute barrier was broken, many runners went on to break that four-minute barrier also. In fact, a little over a year later three runners ran the mile in under four minutes, in the same race. Now, it is no longer newsworthy to run the mile under four minutes. Even elite runners in high school have done it. To date, over 1500 runners have broken that barrier. The world record is now three minutes forty-three and thirteen one hundreds seconds (3 min 43.13 sec) set in 1999.

Looking back, it can be noted that breaking the four-minute mile was as much a psychological barrier, if not more so, than a physical one. Otherwise, why was it that so many runners were able to burst through that barrier shortly after Bannister did it, when it seemed impossible before then? It was because of a change in mindset. Once somebody did the “impossible”, others believed they could do it also. That’s why it’s called the “Bannister Effect”.

There are many other examples throughout history, whether it’s in sports, space travel or business, where mindset has played a pivotal role in accomplishing something previously thought impossible.  And it doesn’t only happen in these areas, it happens in our lives, too.

You have probably had “Banister Effect” moments in your life.  Maybe you have faced challenges that seemed impossible but then, you had a mindset shift and you said to yourself, “It’s possible!” And with this positive mindset, you were able to overcome the challenge and succeed.

Sometimes success takes multiple tries, with learning occurring along the way, until you get it right. Sometimes it means getting help and guidance from others. But the ultimate road to success starts with the mindset needed to believe it is possible. Steve Maraboli said, “Once your mindset changes, everything on the outsides changes.”

Carol Dweck, PhD, is an expert on mindset and motivation. She talks about the power of believing you can improve and the power of “not yet”. Research revealed that there are two primary mindsets. The first is a growth mindset. With this mindset, it’s about hoping to grow, by being able to learn and correct on the way to success. The other mindset she talks about is a fixed mindset. With a fixed mindset, people believe that they just don’t have the ability needed and when there’s an error on their road to success, they want to quit.

Dr. Dweck says it’s helpful to teach people, especially children, how to adopt a growth mindset so they stay motivated and don’t give up if they run into challenges. We can all benefit from these strategies of realizing that if we don’t get success right away, it’s coming but maybe “not yet.” We have more to learn and more growth may be needed. She suggests, praise wisely and not just for completion of a goal. Praise for resilience, effort and progress.

Maybe you are dealing with a challenge that requires many small steps and it takes a lot of patience. When Roger Bannister was preparing to break the four-minute mile, he started his mindset believing it was possible. Then it took a growth mindset of having resilience when he had some tough days and poor running times. It took applying what he learned to produce the progress necessary to reach his goal.

What about you? Where would it benefit you to use a mindset like the Bannister Effect? Anupama Garg said, “Our reality is a creation of our perception. Our perception is determined by our mindset.” It’s easy to stay stuck and not move forward because you don’t think you can do it. Remember, change your mindset to change your life. When you start by believing it’s possible and adopt a growth mindset, it will help you reach success.  

© Doug and Lynn Nodland 2020 Articles and videos may be shared in their entirety with attribution.