What is The Bannister Effect and why does it matters today?

What is the Bannister Effect? It is named after Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a sub-four-minute mile. Before he broke this record in 1954, it was thought to be humanly impossible to run this fast. But Bannister not only proved it could be done, but after he did it, his record was broken 46 days later! After decades of people believing it could never be done, it was almost like Bannister gave permission to runners to believe it could.

The Bannister Effect was also seen after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Before they did it in 1953, no one believed an expedition to the top of Mount Everest could be done. But Sir Edmund Hillary proved otherwise. So did Sir Chris Bonington when he reached the summit without supplemental oxygen two years later!

We have seen this happen over and over again not just in sports and athletic achievements, but in scientific breakthroughs, business success, and almost any other endeavor that was once thought “impossible”. When someone achieves something new and ‘amazing’, it is not long before someone else comes along and takes it a step further.

The Bannister Effect is essentially the mindset of one of these ‘impossible’ goals being made more achievable. When you know that the goal is possible, it becomes attainable. You are far more likely to achieve your dreams if they are actually possible rather than just a flight of fancy!

Why does in matter today? We live in an age where anything seems possible. It can be very easy to become discouraged by this overwhelming feeling that there is “nothing” left for us to do because everyone else has already done it or achieved what we have set out to do. There are still plenty of problems left to solve and new things for people to discover. The only thing stopping you from experiencing all of this is your belief.

When people complete an unbelievable task, others feel like they can do the same thing. This mindset sets off a chain reaction of achievement that has almost no end. Let your work inspire others to not only do the same but maybe something even greater. Be a catalyst for change and achievement.