How to achieve the impossible

Understanding Your Barriers

Before we begin, it¡¯s important that you identify your own limits and parameters. What constitutes as possible and normal, and what do you deem as impossible? Would you run 42 kms, climb Kilimanjaro or contend with the extreme cold of the Arctic? Or perhaps would you attempt to break bricks with your bare hands or scale and climb over 5¡¯ high boards like free runners do?

I haven¡¯t indulged in any of the above myself as yet, though I will someday soon! As a life coach, I too feel like stretching my personal limits. I am currently working with a few clients who have declared similar goals for 2012 and unsurprisingly, several of my newer friends this year are on similar paths. They say we always attract people who will lead the path forward for our own journeys into our lives--and they're right!

Based on the conversations I had with a few of my friends, I came to the same conclusion: It takes discipline, persistence, and power of mind to stretch oneself. By doing this, you would be overcoming and deconditioning fear through perseverance and practice. These are the same ingredients required to do anything that you deem ¡°impossible¡± at first, aren¡¯t they?

How Others Do It

Most of the runners I spoke to said that if they put their mind to something and achieved it, they felt as though they could achieve anything. In long runs and in climbing mountains, you are sure to hit a wall when you can¡¯t go any further and it is painful and feels impossible and your body screams for you to stop. It will resist going on; some people will physically faint or throw up! This is homeostasis, i.e. the point where many people give up. However, someone who is determined will know that stopping is not an option, so they continue to persevere through the pain. They climb, pursue, push or run with the pain and it is this very act of alignment of body, mind and emotions that is the very essence of achieving anything else that is ¡°seemingly impossible¡± in your life.

I¡¯ve broken down how you can actually achieve this state of mind:

Nothing Is Impossible

This is the first and golden rule. Things are only impossible until someone does it. Millions of people achieve seemingly impossible tasks like running marathons, climbing mountains, and mastering kung-fu.

In Feb 2012, 25-year-old Kyle Maynard, a quadriplegic, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. This is an icy, 19,340-foot climb that has challenged the most hardened and seasoned of athletes.

As performing arts enthusiast Darshan Dave so aptly says, ¡°Every time we go to break a brick, we have to tell ourselves it is possible; every time a traceur attempts to do a precision jump over 6-inch broad bars over a distance of 5 feet or more, he has to tell himself that it is possible. That¡¯s the first step.¡±

Where Is the Impossibility?

I decided that readers might be more willing to accept the possibility of all of this if it came from real people who have actually managed to accomplish ¡®impossible¡¯ feats. Read these quotes and real-life experiences and I guarantee, you will be inspired to infuse your own life with some will-power and determination!

¡°The impossibility is only in our heads. If you tell yourself you can do something and you envision yourself doing it and then you align your mind and body and energy to that one task, there should be nothing to stop you from achieving that task. And when I say align your mind, body and energy, I do mean you train aptly and sufficiently to achieving your goal. To do the impossible begins with believing it¡¯s possible." - Mountaineer & Marathoner, Akash Loungani, Dubai.

Vanessa Hendriadi, Indonesia, said she was not much of a runner, or to be more precise, she hated running. Her excuses were the common, ¡°I go to the gym regularly, why do I need to run?¡± ¡°I have flat feet,¡± and ¡°I am not built to run." Just last month, she ran through the finish line of a 42 km marathon in Hong Kong.

¡°24 km to go. How should I motivate myself? From kilometer 24 to 38, it was all a mind game. I found a way by dedicating each kilometre to a person that I love or an intention I set for myself. I wanted to stop and walk countless times, but I tried to keep my focus, one person and one intention at a time. I used that focus to tell my legs to keep stepping forward.¡± All that my blurry eyes could see was the ¡°FINISH¡± sign as if it were right in front of me. Crossing the line, I felt like a new person who could overcome anything. I am now a marathoner!" - Vanessa

Darshan Dave explained further. In parkour, discipline is imperative, whether you are climbing over a wall, jumping off one, or scaling over a ledge or a ditch, the ability is developed by both unconditioning and disciplining one's mind and body. The body can only overcome when the mind says it is possible and that takes endless practice. Then there¡¯s the progression & practise, meaning you start with conditioning your body and unconditioning your mind. Your mind is preprogrammed to resisting it, deeming such movement ¡°impossible,¡± so it takes the body and the mind time and repetition to reprogram itself into believing it is indeed possible, and hence being able to actually do it progressively.

¡°Surely, you don¡¯t get it at the first try and so this is when discipline and solid belief come into play by repeatedly doing the same action hundreds and even thousands of times in the right manner before you actually get it. The ease, effortlessness and the grace in the movement of a true martial artist and a traceur is a result of all the effort that he puts while practising. The result is directly proportional to the right effort with a disciplined mind.¡± - Darshan Dave

¡°Whether you think you can or whether you think you can¡¯t, you¡¯re right.¡± - Henry Ford

Conquering the Impossible in Your Life

So what ¡°impossible¡± feat are you going to commit to conquering this year? All you need to do is decide that it is possible and you are on your way. And remember, when you spend your life turning more and more ¡°impossibles¡± into achievements, you will find that nothing is really impossible so long as you have a compelling desire and solid belief. It is those two things that will ensure you put in the devotion and discipline needed to overcome anything and achieve any feat!

Malti Bhojwani is a certified life coach who offers her services at Multi Coaching International. When she's not teaching people how to achieve the impossible, she's helping scores of corporates, educational institutes, and individuals better themselves using her unique coaching techniques. She's also launched a series of videos offering tips and advice; check them out here.