MOVE: August 22, 2014

The Amazing Human Machine....

Spoiler Summary: There must be a limit to human potential, except we haven't been able to find it yet.

I guess I say it a lot - "the body is NOT a weak machine....you are stronger than you think".  I don't always use those exact words - but the message is the same and I say it confidently, because I know it to be true. Despite the process of aging, the stress (and sometimes over-stress) of life, the doubts that come with the unknown and the risk of injury or embarrassment now and again, some people just keep pushing the limit of what was previously thought possible.....some people just decide to NOT accept limits until they've been thoroughly tested.  That doesn't mean they put themselves in harm’s way....rather, they simply don't accept arbitrary limits - they think in terms of potential and instead of asking if something is possible, they ask "how do we make this happen?"

If you were to look at Joe you might conclude that he's a pretty ordinary guy.  Unassuming in his demeanor....an easy going approach toward most things.....curious but not overbearing......opinionated but not pushy.  If you got an email from Joe, you might be curious where "Always believe....accept no limits" (the personal mantra at the bottom of his email signature) came from or what it's referring to.  You might be curious that is.....until you asked him what he's doing on the weekend.  At that moment - when you hear something like "I'm going to try to break the record in a 24 hour bike race in Saratoga Springs" (which he did) or "I'm going to run up and down the side of a mountain for a full day" (which he also did) you might find yourself wondering less about his mantra and more about what drives him.

I'm not sure there's an easy answer.  By many measures, he is a pretty ordinary guy - 10 fingers, 10 toes and no mutations that I know of; yet his resume of accomplishments within his competitive domain is nothing short of extraordinary..... Take nothing away from his commitment to fitness - but it's not all physiology.....it's mindset.  A mindset that sees life as a series of challenges and chance to develop is a mindset that enables amazing growth as hurdle after hurdle are crossed and barrier after perceived barrier come down.

When I asked him about it, shortly after completing the Fat Dog 120 (120 mile Canadian trail race that includes total elevation change equivalent to climbing Mt. Everest) last weekend, he referred me back to his mantra:

“The "always believe" part is significant because if you believe in yourself & believe in your goal, you will do everything to get it. The "accept no limits" part is perhaps more obvious, don't accept what someone else (society, etc) thinks is the limit, set your own: It's your goal, your dream - have the guts to push yourself to do it.”

The truth is, we have no idea what the limit to human potential is.  For a long time "the limit" was the 4 minute mile - a mark thought to be physiologically impossible until 1954 when Roger Banister ran the mile in 3:59.4 - and then, within 3 years, 16 others did so too.  By 2001, the mark was being broken by High Schooler Alan Webb.

It wasn't a sudden breakthrough in training.  It wasn't a new shoe or piece of technology.  It was a breakthrough in mindset - a willingness NOT to accept the perceived "limit" of the times.....it was a willingness to believe.

Although my team tends toward tests of endurance as a convenient mechanism to learn about how best to overcome challenges and get to the other side of personal barriers - the principle is the same whether you're trying to endure a race, or trying to endure work, life or the other numerous challenges we face.

It starts with the belief that it's possible - the body is NOT a weak machine....and when it ends with the willingness to JUST.  KEEP.  GOING. it usually ends with success.

Have a great week,

Mike E.