Before Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile in 1954, all the “experts” said it couldn't be done, that it was impossible.
These beliefs were supported by published medical reports stating that the human body could not withstand the physiological stress of running faster than a four-minute mile. Bannister, like other runners of his time, believed this myth and couldn't get below 4:01 until he reframed the problem. He told himself that he was no longer interested in breaking the four-minute barrier. Instead, he claimed that, since he ran the distance in 241 seconds, he was merely interested in running that same distance in 239 seconds. Since there was no accepted dogma about running the mile in 239 seconds, Bannister escaped the collected, limiting beliefs of his time. Interestingly enough, shortly after Bannister broke the barrier, numerous other runners did the same, no longer shackled by the “impossible.”
