People talk a lot about the power of the mind; how what we think can create incredible capability in our behaviours, and there are many examples of unexpected superhuman strength under duress.

But what about every day?

Well, there some amazing examples of the mindset for peak performance in action – take Dick Hoyt, the incredible father who went from being an overweight unfit guy, to completing several Ironman triathlons in order for his son Rick (who has cerebral palsy) to feel free of his disability. For the swim portion of the triathlon, Dick uses a rope attached to his body to pull Rick sitting in a boat. For the cycle portion, Rick rides on the front of a specially designed tandem bike. For the run portion, Dick pushes Rick in his wheelchair.

Or how about Alex DJ Smith, nicknamed ‘The Greatest Ironman’, who pulled, pushed and carried his son Harrison through the Challenge Denmark Ironman Distance Triathlon in 15 hours, 36 minutes and 29 seconds. That is almost 16 hours of non-stop physical and mental pain. Alex has become a great friend of mine and I continue to help him raise money for his son who’s muscles are deteriorating at an alarming rate because he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Check out www.harrisonsfund.com

Could YOU complete an Ironman race?

If you’ve already answered “no”, or “not right now”, then you may have missed the point. Either that. or your subconscious is holding you back from what you, yes YOU, are truly capable of.

Often we are too quick to dismiss ourselves, put down our own capabilities, and hold ourselves back from achieving our true Peak Performance. And the saddest thing is, we don’t even realise we’re doing this.

Over the next week do the following:

• Every time you say, or go to say, that you ‘can’t’, replace can’t with ‘will’, and say it again.
• In 5 scenarios of your choice, say YES when you would normally say no.

Be conscious of your behaviours, be strong and open of mind, and be the BEST you that you can be.