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Whatever you can do,

Or think you can, begin it.

Boldness has power, and genius,

And magic in it.

- Goethe

Consider this question: How often have you let a “brisk wind” or a “light rain” provide you with an excuse to cancel an appointment, avoid a networking event, or skip a workout?

On one wet blustery day back in 1954, Roger Bannister, a young medical student in Britain, almost let the weather destroy his date with destiny. Bannister had plans to participate in the mile event that day in a dual track meet between Oxford University and the British Amateur Athletic Association, for which he was running. After completing his hospital rounds, he caught the train to the event. As fate would have it, his coach, Franz Stampfl, was on the same train. During the short ride, Bannister expressed his concerns about the weather conditions, but Stampfl encouraged him to participate. “If you don’t take this opportunity,” he told Bannister, “you may never forgive yourself.” Bannister waited until just an hour before the race to decide. By then, the rain had stopped and the winds had subsided. Bannister decided to go for it. With his plan in place, Bannister began the race that would be his legacy. In 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person in history to run a sub-4-minute mile.

Roger Bannister’s story resonates with me because I am a runner – and the mile was my event in high school. The story also reminds me of all the times I have pointed to that “light rain” or “brisk wind” as a reason for not doing something because there was something about it that frightened me. Fear is a powerful de-motivator.

But here is the good news: Recent research at MIT has shown that multitasking is a fallacy; that is, our brains can really only focus on one thing at a time. Now you may be thinking, but what does this have to do with fear and moving past it? Here’s how: To feel fear, you must consciously think about it and worry about it. If, instead, you distract yourself by following the Nike adage and focus on “just doing it,” your fear will fade away because you can’t focus on the fear and on the thing that is causing the fear at the same time.

How is that possible? After all, fear tends to immobilize us and prevent us from taking action. Here is the key – commitment! If you commit to something and hold yourself accountable – and find the Franz Stampfls in your lives to help you do just that – you will feel obliged to do it. And when you do it, you will be focused on doing it successfully – not on the associated fear. 

It is that commitment that will allow you to push aside your perceived limits, dismiss the “light rains” and “brisk winds” in your life, and accomplish what you never thought possible – whether that is completing a marathon, getting a degree, climbing a mountain, or presenting your Ice Breaker speech at a Toastmasters meeting.