Herb Elliott was the Cathy Freeman of his time. In 1958 at the age of 20, he became the youngest runner to beat the four-minute mile and, later that year, set a new world record of 3 min 54.5 seconds.
By 1960, he was at his peak and ready for the Rome Olympics, an event he had trained for all his life.
In interviews years after the event, he tells how, at the halfway mark, the pace set by the front runners was so ferocious he was lagging in fourth place. The ‘Man on his shoulder’, as he called the voice in his head, said, “It’s all over, Herb, you’re buggered”.
But his many years of intense training was not just about developing peak physical condition; it was also training himself to ignore the voice in his head. He overrode the voice in his head by saying to himself:
“Nah, this is like every other race I’ve run – now is the time to pick up the pace.”
And he did.
Not only did go on to win the gold medal, he also set a new world record.
In the words of Herb:
“The thing that’s holding you back is not these other guys you’re going to race against, it’s your own weaknesses. You never defeat them, but work on them constantly and learn how to manage them. If you have that attitude, it helps enormously to improve yourself and also helps you to be humble.”
I think about this a lot – with my work and the people I work with.
So, my question to you today is:
What is stopping you?
And if it’s just your mind, you can change that.
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