#216 - It takes only 5 seconds to change your life
It takes only 5 seconds to change your life.
It’s true. Prove it to yourself. The next time you have a decision to make, big or small, try counting backward from 5 and take action.
This is a very simple yet powerful “tool” to utilize. There is a lot of psychology behind it and why it works, but the important fact is…it works.
I use this tool regularly for anything from getting out of bed in the morning, to starting work on, or finishing a project that I’m struggling with.
There are always reasons not to do something.
The reality is that our brains can sometimes be our worst enemy. Within milliseconds of thinking a thought, your mind starts working against you.
Think about waking up in the morning, going to the gym, doing laundry, cleaning the house, making one more phone call at work, or calling to ask someone on a date. With each of these ideas, or tasks, your brain starts to come up with reasons you can’t or shouldn’t do any of them.
It’s natural. It’s the way we’re wired.
How do you get past these negative thought and idea destroyers?
It’s very simple. It’s The 5 Second Rule. This rule was so named by author and speaker, Mel Robbins. She discovered this rule purely by accident. Mel was struggling to get up in the morning and get her day started.
She kept hitting the snooze button again and again every morning. One night as she was getting read to turn off her TV and head to bed, something caught her attention. It was the launch of a rocket into space.
As she watched, NASA did their final countdown that we’ve all heard so many times. What made this different for her is that she decided to use this count down in the morning to launch herself out of bed just like the rocket.
The result? It worked! When her alarm went off she remembered the rocket launch from the night before and started counting down out loud, 5-4-3-2-1 GO! And she did it the next day, and the next, and the next.
It wasn’t always easy, but it worked and she stuck with it. I use The 5 Second Rule almost daily. There are plenty of things that I’m not crazy about doing. Creating Facebook Ads, accounting, cleaning my apartment, and going to the gym are just a few of the things I struggle with.
How does this relate to dating and relationships?
It’s easy. How many times have you wanted to ask someone out and then almost immediately chickened out? How many times have you wanted to go up and meet someone at an event and chickened out for any number of reasons?
The fact is, when you come up with an idea that you like, your brain automatically starts working against you. This is when you need to start counting, 5-4-3-2-1 GO.
Pick up the phone and call. Get up out of your chair and go ask her to dance. Get up off the couch and do the thing you’d love to do but have always been afraid to take the chance or make the effort.
5-4-3-2-1 GO. It’s that simple. The 5 Second Rule will help you with the everyday courage you need to have to connect with people you really want to meet, to ask someone out on a date, to have a difficult conversation with someone you love.
Following the rule isn’t always going to be easy. Your mind can be very persuasive when it comes to talking you out of whatever it is you’d like to do.
Whenever you find yourself struggling to make a decision or take action, remember 5-4-3-2-1 GO and make the decisions or take action. It is that simple.
To find out more about Mel Robbins and her book, go to https://melrobbins.com/books/.
I hope today’s topic is helpful. Join me next week for a conversation about Do’s and don’ts of good communication between men and women. I’ll share some proper etiquette and tips on how not to sound like a dork when you meet someone new.
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