Self Limitation

In my early twenties, I was sickly for a variety of reasons, one of them being a heavy smoker. I got a trainer and started exercising. I could not bench press 45 pounds, I weighed maybe 130 pounds at 6' 0", and could not run twenty feet without fighting for breath. My trainer started to teach me a wide variety of disciplines, including boxing. He said to exercise like I was actually in the ring, because then when I am actually in the ring, it would seem easy compared to a person that didn't push themselves to the maximum during training. I coughed blood but kept running when I caught my breath. It was excruciating! I slowly grew stronger and stayed committed to my routines. Three years later, I was lapping athletes on the track. After about four years, I ran two consecutive 1-mile runs, both in under 4-minutes. When I ran the first mile under 4, my trainer said there must be something wrong with the stopwatch and told me to do it again. I balked but did as he instructed. I ran the mile again, and that's when he said I did it in under 4...both times. He was amazed! I was tired. I bet had he told me I did it under 4 the first time, I would not have done it again. I thought it would be IMPOSSIBLE to run an under 4 mile. But it goes to show that we are capable of more than what we give ourselves credit for. So don't talk yourself out of success! This was a great article, and it reminded me that I need to drop my self-sabotage with speaking too.