Boost yourself on: Action, challenge, change, courage, feelings, instinct,

mind, power, push.

Foreword

There’s nothing like a life of confidence and courage. However, these two
don’t always reflect in people’s work and everyday life. If you want to end
the habit of procrastination, stop yourself from falling victim to fear and
uncertainty and feel happier when you finally get to share your ideas, then
this is just the right piece for you. The author, Mel Robbins, is an American
television host and motivational speaker. In this piece, she presents a
simple and easy one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of holding yourself
back. You will learn that the secret isn’t knowing what to do but how to
make yourself do it.
 1. Discover five seconds that have the power to change
your life
To change your life, all you need is to make one 5-second decision at a
time. The 5-second rule teaches you to change. Using this rule replaces
the tendency to procrastinate or overthink little tasks or decisions and shifts
you toward taking action instead.

This rule will stop you from doubting yourself and it will help you become
happier, healthier, and more productive and effective at work. This rule has
actual compelling get moving science to back it up, and its effectiveness
has been proven.

Why does a straightforward tool work in so many powerful ways? The

simple answer to this is that it works on YOU. It taps into the inner
greatness, and courage that is looking for a push to come out. It pushes
YOU to honor yourself and champion your ideas, and that’s how all the
transformation is possible.

Most problems that we have or think we have come from our inability to
push ourselves or have confidence in ourselves to be better. You will learn
with this rule, that you are only one decision away from changing your life
as it is now, to the life YOU want to live.
2. The 5-second rule was inspired by an on-screen rocket
launch

Courage is the ability to do something hard or scary, step outside your

comfort zone, share your ideas, speak up, stand firm on your beliefs, or get
out of bed, on some days.

At 41, Mel Robbins was unemployed, with a severe drinking problem, in

addition to financial and marital issues. She woke up late; her kids got to
school late because they always missed the bus, and she fought with her
husband. Mel blamed her husband for their misery ― at the time, her
husband’s business too had severe financial problems ― because it was
easier.

She knew all the things she should be doing ― exercise, find a job, be
kinder to her husband, get up early, make breakfast for the kids, and get
them to the bus quickly, or even just call a friend to talk ― but she couldn’t
bring herself to take action. All she did was think about what she needed to
do. And that didn’t help ― if anything, it only made things more difficult.

Overthinking makes things worse because you focus on the negatives, and
your mind talks you out of it.

One night, she was about to turn off the TV when the image of a rocket
about to launch on the screen caught her attention, and as she heard the
famous five-second countdown, 5-4-3-2-1, fire and smoke filled the screen,
and the shuttle launched.
There and then, she decided to “launch herself out of bed tomorrow like a
rocket”. Yes, that’s right, that’s all it took. She had the inner instinct to
launch herself, but hearing it was the tipping point and listening and
following her instincts was indeed life-changing.

When you have a goal, and you come close to anything that could make it
realizable for you, your prefrontal cortex lights up, which shows you the
connection between your brain and your instinct to act. An example is when
you have a goal to get healthier: as soon as you pass by a gym, you feel
like you should exercise, whereas nothing happens if you walk by your
living room.

The rocket launch affected Mel, and when the next morning came, even
though she felt like it was stupid, she ignored her feelings, trusted her
instincts, and instead of hitting the snooze button, as usual, she counted
5,4,3,2,1, and then stood up. There, the 5-second rule was born.

3. The 5-second rule requires instinctive action

The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must 5-4-3-2-1 and
physically move, or your brain will stop you.

When you’re counting backwards, you shift your default thinking, and it
distracts you from your excuses and focuses your mind on moving to a new
direction. If you know something that can change you for the better, count
5-4-3-2-1 and move.

The idea that you have to be motivated before you do something is simply
a myth.

When it’s time to assert yourself, you will not feel like doing it at all. So, you
need to get out of your head and take action. The rule works on the idea
that you can control your fate, so far you push yourself.

The 5-second rule will work every time you use it, but you HAVE to use it. It
is a tool. If you stop using it, uncertainty, fear, and procrastination creep
back in and stop you from doing the things you need to do. If this happens,
simply find your way back to the rule and start using it again.

And the more you use the rule, the more you experience a deeper shift
inside yourself. You’ll begin to experience a transformation that impacts
confidence and inner strength. You’ll see all the time you wasted waiting for
things to change.

4. The 5-second rule tricks your mind to block out excuses

The 5-second rule is so-called because that was the first thing that came to
Mel’s mind after she first used it.
Observe that counting upwards doesn’t work, because you could keep
counting to 10, 20, or 10000, and your brain has enough time to discourage
you. But backwards, after 1, there’s nowhere else to go, so you act.

Even though it sounds similar to the Nike tagline “Just do it,” they are
different in the sense that “Just do it” is what you need to do while the
#5secondrule is how you make yourself do it. What they have in common is
that they push you to take action, without first stopping to think. You may
choose to shorten or lengthen the time window to suit your needs.

The 5-second rule works because it tricks your mind into “not overthinking
things,” which will block any room for excuses.

As you keep repeating it, your mind gets accustomed to the change and
forms a habit of it. The following are the three distinct categories for how
you can use the five-second rule:

● To change your behavior

● To act with everyday courage

● To control your mind

Did you know? Most of us don’t even realize we hesitate because we’ve
done it so often it has become a habit.
5. There is a great deal of power in everyday courage
Everyday life is full of scary, uncertain, and challenging moments that
require a lot of courage to pull off. Whether it is asking for a raise at work,
standing up for your beliefs, or merely getting out of bed, these small acts
of courage define you and change your life.

An instance is what Rosa Parks did when she refused to give up her seat
on a bus for a white passenger. At that moment, she made a
history-changing decision, without thinking or preparing for it. When you
push yourself, not only do you change the way things are, the law, or civil
rights movement, you’ll change YOURSELF.

Your power lies in the fact that there is only one YOU, and there will never
be another.

It just so happens that we don’t always remember that. We hold ourselves

back due to fear of rejection, fear of failure, or a fear of looking bad.

Ask yourself: “What if I’m wrong?” and all these fears are only in my head
— it usually is. Even if you do fail, tell yourself, “So what? At least I tried.’’
Not every dream we have will come true, but it doesn’t stop us from trying
to realize them.
Life isn’t a one-and-done sort of deal. You’ve got to work, fail, and work
some more to get what you want. Picasso created more than 50,000 works
of art, with nearly 100 being masterpieces.

Sadly, many of us wait for validation from others before pursuing our
dreams or career, forgetting that YOU validate your ideas by PURSUING
them.

To be successful, you have to be courageous enough to keep trying.

6. If you wait until you feel like it, you will never get around to
doing it

We think we make decisions based on logic, but that’s not true. We feel
before we think and before we act. When you’re about to make a decision,
you start to subconsciously weigh the pros and cons of what you want to do
and decide based on how you’re feeling.

If you don’t learn how to untangle your feelings from your action, you’ll
never unlock your true potential.

You may not control how you feel, but you can control how you act. Use the
rule to push yourself out of your comfort zone because if you wait till you
“feel like it,” you never will.

So, you need to learn how to start using the rule. The Wake-up Challenge
is the best way to start using the rule because it is straightforward and
requires just you, your alarm, and the 5-4-3-2-1. If you fail to get up, it’s all
on you.

You get to experience the concept of activation energy ― the energy

required to start a chemical reaction ― which states, in this context, that
the power needed to push yourself out of bed is higher than that required
when you’re up and running.

If you can change your morning routine, you can change everything else.
So, take these simple steps:

● Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier than the usual time and place
the alarm clock in another room — no snooze button. Remember,
you must push yourself to complete the challenge.

● As soon as the alarm sounds, open your eyes and start counting
backwards 5-4-3-2-1, throw off the covers, spring out of bed, and
walk out of your bedroom, no lingering or crawling back into bed.

This challenge is the first step to taking charge of your life.

If you can get up on time, start your day powerfully, plan, think about your
goals, and focus on yourself, all before you get into your daily routine, you
will accomplish more.
7. Be healthier and live a fit life when you incorporate the rule
into your health

“The fact is that thinking about being healthier won’t make you
healthier. Even meditation, which is a mental exercise, still requires
that you DO IT. There is no getting around this. You must take action.”
~ Mel Robbins

To become the most productive person you know, you need to improve
your health, increase your productivity, and end procrastination. Thinking
alone won’t get you there. You have to take the necessary action. At first,
you never feel like working out, but just like jumping out of bed, you launch
yourself with the 5-4-3-2-1 until you get moving.

Every diet plan, exercise, and physical therapy will work in improving your
health if only you would do them.

Will dieting, hitting the gym, or doing some yoga make you happy? Yes, it
will. So, do it! Stop thinking about how not eating pork, candy, or drinking
that bottle of beer will make you feel.

Your feelings don’t matter; only your action does. The distance between
where you are and where you want to be can seem so big that you’ve given
up before you even start, but starting is the most significant step.

Drink that smoothie, go to the dentist, get that mammogram, and improve
your health in one 5 second moment.
8. Use only 5 seconds to increase productivity and reduce
distractions

Productivity centers around focus. The two things you need to master
productivity are:

● The ability to manage distractions so you can focus

moment-to-moment on the task at hand

● The skill of focusing on what’s truly important to you in the big picture,
so you don’t waste your day on unnecessary stuff

Get serious about managing your distractions by first admitting that

distractions are not good and that these interruptions hinder your
production.

Then, what you do is remove these distractions. It may not be easy, but
you have to delete that social media, turn off that phone, declutter, and
watch out for the rewards.

Next step is to own your mornings. You can adopt Mel Robbins’ morning
routine:

● Get up when the alarm rings. 5-4-3-2-1-get up. No snooze button

● Walk to the bathroom and turn off the alarm

● Brush your teeth and focus on the day ahead

 ● Get dressed, make the bed, walk into the kitchen, and pour a cup of
coffee

● Write down 1 to 3 “musts” and why they are essential

● Plan the day by taking 30 minutes before 7:30

● Plan your quitting time, i.e., the time after which you will stop working

This routine will enable you to focus on the right things, and avoid being
susceptible to the distractions that come with your phone, social media, or
checking emails.

The first 2 to 3 hours of the day are the best hours to focus on the task
ahead.

Use this morning routine and make the necessary changes to suit your
lifestyle. Make it work, and be a more productive person.

9. Train yourself to beat procrastination using the rule

There are two types of procrastination:

● Productive procrastination ― the type whereby you take some time,

days, weeks, or months, to let your mind wander, so you can come
up with more creative ideas to enhance your project. So, when you’re
working on a creative project that doesn’t have a fixed deadline, it’s a
creative process to practice productive procrastination.
 ● Destructive procrastination ― This, on the other hand, is when you
avoid the work, knowing fully well that there will be negative
consequences. People do not procrastinate because they don’t want
to work, but rather, to avoid stress or to feel stressed. It is more like
an essential break from the more pressure we have ― perhaps from
money, relationship problems, or life in general.

Many people are stuck in the habit of procrastination, not as a result of

outright laziness, but due to fear of failure, excessive perfectionism, low
energy levels and a lack of focus.

To solve this problem, first, you have to forgive yourself, and not beat
yourself up about what you’ve done. Then, you ask yourself, what would
the future you do? Because our future selves portray what we want to be, it
gives us the drive we need. Use the rule to start small, attack what you’re
avoiding and take a break. Keep this loop going, and you’ll replace your
bad habit of procrastinating with a good one.

10. Stop worrying about the things you have no control over

To be the happiest person you know, you have to train your mind to break
your addiction to worrying and negative self-talk, eliminate anxiety from
your life and beat any fear you may have.
Ending your habit of worrying will create one of the most significant positive
changes in your life.

Sometimes, feelings of love trigger worry too. So, you’re excited that your
husband or friend just got a new motorcycle, but the next thought that
creeps into your mind is “What if they have an accident with it?” or “What if
they get hit by a car?” Most of these things usually don’t happen, and even
if they do by accident, worrying doesn’t prevent the inevitable.

When you feel your inner voice being an enemy, take 5 seconds to stop
yourself from worrying and focus on the positives. Be grateful and focus on
the bright side of every situation.

You have to learn to beat fear so that you can enjoy life to the fullest.

Fear will make you miss out on things you should be enjoying and leave
you feeling miserable. To beat your fear, you have to create an anchor
thought. Your anchor thought can be the good things that’ll happen after.

If you’re with Mel Robbins in her fear for flights, count 5-4-3-2-1 backwards
and start thinking of the beautiful places you are going to visit ― the lovely
people, or the series of events that will take place. This anchor thought will
distract your mind and replace the feeling of fear with beautiful images.
Anything is possible when you master your mind.
11. Understand anxiety and stop yourself from having a
panic attack

Anxiety is what happens when your worrying goes out of control.

The key to beating anxiety is to understand it. You have to study how it
starts, to catch it as it creeps in and reframe it, then stabilise your thoughts
before your mind escalates it into a full-blown panic.

There are two types of panic:

● Normal panic: That rush of adrenaline you feel when you have a
“near miss” while driving on the highway. The reason why you calm
down after this is that your brain identifies the reason for acting that
way, it understands that you almost got into a car crash and that’s
why your body freaked out.

● Panic attacks: When you have a panic attack, the same sensation
hits you, you’re freaking out, but this time, your brain can’t pinpoint
the reason, which usually makes it worse.

Trying to calm down doesn’t work, just like it’s not easy or possible to go
from 60mph to 0mph just like that. What works is to understand that anxiety
and excitement feel the same in your body.

All you need do is use the 5-second rule to affirm your mind and tell
yourself you are excited instead, even though you may have to say it close
to 20 times for it to work. Practice the rule till your anxiety weakens and
becomes the simple worry it started as.
12. Building real confidence is the most important step to
being the you of your dreams

Confidence means that you believe in yourself, your ideas, and your
capabilities. Anyone can learn how to be more confident. It’s a skill, not a
matter of personality. Some extroverts talk a lot but are still not sure when it
comes to putting themselves, or their thoughts, out there.

There are also introverts who believe in their ideas and their capabilities,
but have a problem of getting red-faced when they’re about to open up. So,
the quietest people you know might be the most confident.

Sometimes we lose connection with our real selves, perhaps because we

are trying to fit in, or we’re just saying we’re okay with where we are at
financially, career-wise or even in relationships.

Once you lose touch with the real you, you’ll lose confidence. But when you
do things that affirm your sense of self, the little things, probably things you
usually wouldn’t do, you build your confidence.

The more you practice acts of courage, the more you will believe you are in
control of your life, and thus, the more confident you’ll become.

The more you use the rule, the faster your confidence will grow. The payoff
you’ll get is everything you seek ― self-confidence, control, and a sense of
pride.
13. Pursuing your passion and maintaining strong
relationships will make you happy

The best way to find your passion is to trust your curiosity. If you cannot
stop thinking about something or making something your new hobby,
explore that subject, read about it, take a class, and write a plan.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done it before. Explore. Build the

momentum, start conversations with like-minded people, and create
opportunities that will drive you towards your passion.

Have the courage to commit yourself and turn your passion project into a
passion-driven career or significant life change. Then, have faith in the fact
that as long as you listen to your heart, do the work, and give up your
timeline, you can make anything happen.

As you find your passion and work toward it, it is important to remember to
work on your interpersonal relationships too. You have no idea how happy
and fulfilled healthy relationships can make you.

A tip to improve your relationships is to “speak up”. Silence is what kills

relationships. It is always the problem. Deciding not to say what you feel
creates what researchers call “cognitive dissonance” between what you
truly believe in your heart and what you do at the moment. This problem
builds up, and over time, they can break your relationship.
Learn how to not leave anything important unsaid. 5-4-3-2-1- go ahead and
say it!

We often fail to appreciate the power in small things, and intimacy takes
courage. You will get one shot at the five seconds that will change your life.

Take that shot, follow your instinct, and speak up. If you don’t speak up,
you may never get the chance again. So, if it’s to declare your needs in
your relationship, ask for a divorce, or speak your mind, dare to do so, and
watch your life transform.

Conclusion
Your success ― or failure ― is up to you. You have the power to become
whatever you want to be. Even though you may fail, the power lies in you
doing it anyway. Say “NO!” when you feel afraid, and move. You can move
mountains! That’s the power of courage. Make your life considerably better
by gathering enough courage to enact a change. You may not be able to
change the past, but in 5 seconds you can change the future.

If you apply the 5 Second Rule in your personal and professional life, you
will definitely experience positive changes in your life. Take those little
risks, give it your best shot and watch things soar.

Always listen to your heart. And when it speaks, make sure you honor it.
You can change your life and in the process, save the world.
You want a degree? Enroll in college. You want to learn a skill? Go for it.
There’s a business idea in your head? Start working on it now. Give up on
playing small. Ditch the short-term mindset. Pay no mind to those excuses.

5…..4….3…..2...1….GO! The moment you have that instinct to act on a

goal, you must 5-4-3-2-1 and physically move, or your brain will stop you.

Practice: ​Do the 5-4-3-2-1 and get started. The moment you feel yourself
hesitate, use the rule to set you back on track. Discover your inner courage
and shape the life you want for yourself.