My father-in-law sent us a video to watch over the weekend called, “Why Motivation is Garbage” by Mel Robbins. Of course, the title caught my eye so I hit play and watched it around the table with the family after lunch on Saturday. Despite the language getting a little sketchy for the kids a couple of times, the story was incredible.
Mel Robbins is a former criminal defense attorney who travels the world sharing her “5 Second Rule”.
And it’s not the one about quickly eating food off the floor. In her travels Mel vulnerably shares her story of going from broken and depressed to coming to understand a simple hack for her brain that not only helped her get out of bed in the morning, but empowered her to launch into doing things she never dreamed possible. The story drew me in from the start as she shared about the twists and turns of her shared entrepreneurial journey with her husband. The way they dealt with the experiences was vastly different. When things got rough, he jumped into action, but she found herself paralyzed by her thoughts.
Until she figured out how to launch herself out of it.
It’s both common sense and extraordinarily fascinating, as she explains how to make micro-decisions that have the power to change the trajectory of your life. She points out that our brains are so busy protecting us from pain and failure that we essentially have to trick them into doing important things, things that scare us and that matter.
Mel says, “You are never, ever going to feel like it, ever.”
So the next time you’re seeking to do something important, even if it’s as small as getting up a little earlier, pay attention to what’s happening in your brain and decide to override it.
Try Mel’s 5 Second Rule:
“The moment you feel yourself hesitate (when you know you should do something) start counting backward 5-4-3-2-1, the GO. The Rule is a proven, form of metacognition. When you use it, you shift mental gears, interrupt your habit of over thinking and awaken your pre-frontal cortex – making change easy. The rule acts as a “starting ritual” that breaks bad habits and triggers positive new behavior change.”
It makes so much sense.
I know I have so many habits that keep me from doing important things, like hesitating to say, “I’m sorry” in the moment I should. That hesitation alone protects me from momentary “pain”, but imagine the pain it would prevent if I employed the 5 second rule every single time and said those two words! That same hesitation at times keeps me from connecting with new people. It’s “protecting” me from embarrassment or not being liked. But imagine the relationships that could be formed if I decided to override it in those first 5 seconds. It’s the same hesitation that temps me not to write every morning.
Putting my fingers on the keys is my launching point.
Where do you hesitate?
How might your life change, even today, if you could override that hesitation?
If there’s something in your life that would change if you could launch yourself into doing something you wish you could do, watch her video and try her 5 Second Rule. Buy her book and make this simple practice part of your life.
I know you’re busy, but I bet you have 5 Seconds to give.
to more love,
Crystal
