In 1954, all knowledgeable people in athletics firmly declared that:
No one can run a mile in under 4 minutes.
That’s the limit of humanity.
Impossible.
Nonsense.
Don't dream.
Roger Bannister didn't care.
And then he did the unbelievable:
Run a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds.
How did he do that?
No — not by "trying your best."
Not by "believing in yourself" like those clichéd posters stuck in gyms.
He did something much wiser:
Break big goals down into smaller, actionable parts.
Instead of trying to swallow a mile whole from the start, Roger started with what he could control.
400 meters in 1 minute.
800 meters in 2 minutes.
1200 meters in 3 minutes.
Each time increasing a little.
Each step is proof that:
"I am making progress. I can do it."
And then on May 6, 1954, at the Iffley Road track in Oxford,
he didn't just break a record.
He shattered a huge psychological barrier — not just his own, but the world's.
Roger Bannister's story is not just for those who love running.
It's a sharp metaphor for any big goal in your life.
Do you want to write a book?
Start a business?
Lose 10 kilos?
Create a YouTube channel?
Change fields?
Live minimally?
Each of these things sounds like "too big" to start.
And because it's too big, you stand still.
Not because you are lazy.
But because you are too overwhelmed by what is called the "big picture."
I used to sit for hours in front of a blank page,
not because there is nothing to write about,
but because my mind is thinking about a 300-page book.
Too heavy.
Too far.
Too much.
Until I started writing… an article.
A paragraph.
A line.
Little by little.
And then the 'impossible' starts to shift.
That's right, you don't need to run the whole mile today.
You just need to run the first 400m.
So, do one small thing:
Write down your big goals. Right now.
And then wonder:
"What is the smallest step I can take today?"
No need to be grand.
No need for perfection.
Just be realistic.
A specific action.
A single step.
And you will start to gain momentum.
After the first 400m, you will want to go another 400m.
And then you will see —
"Miraculous" is really just the accumulation of small things, done long enough, without giving up.
What is your next step?
Don't think too long.
Just do it.
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