Impossible. Is. Nothing.

Before we break down physical barriers we must often first break down the mental ones.

Impossible. Is. Nothing.

Someone working in Adidas’ advertising agency came up with these three very powerful words.  

It was probably late at night or over the weekend that it popped into their heads as if by magic.

In my mind at least, it’s a more powerful and rousing call to action than Nike’s ‘Just Do It.’ It sounds like the ultimate challenge.

Nike’s feels a bit flat by comparison. A bit ho hum with a whiff of nonchalance about it.

What I love about the Adidas slogan is it’s a great reminder of the mental barriers we set ourselves that stand in the way of our achievements. Throughout history so many things have believed to have been impossible until someone actually did them.

Take for example the 4 minute mile. Everyone thought that is was an unassailable milestone. Experts claimed it was simply beyond the abilities of the human body.

Until a man by the name of Roger Bannister did such a thing in 1954 by running a mile in 3:59.4 seconds.

Since then many, many other athletes have subsequently run the mile in under 4 minutes.

In fact, the current record stands at just 3:43.1 seconds set by the Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj.

What is the possible explanation for this?

Bannister credited not only physical fitness as a key factor in his achievement but also the mental preparation and ‘visualization’ he did during training.

What he was referring to is something called the RTA or (Reticular Activating System). This is the notion that when you focus your mind on a particular goal the physiology of your body changes in order to move you closer to the goal itself. 

Spooky huh?!

The point here is that once we overcome our mental barriers we quickly do the same for our physical ones (technique is also similarly effective for non-physical challenges).

When you’re contemplating you next challenge remember these three words.

Impossible. Is. Nothing.