The 5 Second Rule

I’m sure I’m speaking on behalf of the general population when I say that when the end of the year rears its head, it becomes increasingly challenging to maintain focus, ambition and motivation for the tail end of the year. Perhaps you’re like me, questioning if you’ve succeeded in achieving those goals set out for 2018. More realistically, perhaps you’re weighed down by the pit of your insides at the fact that you’ve barely scratched the surface of all you’ve wanted to achieve this year. The exasperation can be overwhelming. And then paralysing. It’s simple to just ride the wave of the end of the year – pushing your ambitions to the promise of tomorrows to do list in 2019.

But hey! What if there was a way to inject yourself with one last PUSH to tackle those goals head on? What if there was a way to end the year off without the recurring disappointment you’ve become accustomed to with the conclusion of every year?

 I am currently reading the book “The 5 Second Rule” by Mel Robbins, and so my findings and learnings cannot be claimed as my own. Thus all intellectual property is lauded upon the finding of this little gem of a publication.

What is the 5 Second Rule?

We’ve all experienced it. Utter despair as you feel you have failed, in some shape or form. Perhaps your career feels as stagnant as it did when January rolled over. Maybe your business has not taken shape in the manner in which you’ve envisioned. Hell, perhaps you just did not lose those 10kgs you swore you would when the ambition and energy was fuelled by the promise of a New Year.

One thing I’ve realised is that it’s NEVER TO LATE to start doing … NOW. In a nutshell, the 5 Second Rule is quite simply this:

Count backwards, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – and PUSH yourself into action.

You see, we all have goals and ambitions we want to achieve. Want to change your career? Grow your business? Get down to a healthy weight? As soon as you start considering those goals, it becomes too overwhelming. You put your alarm on to go off an hour earlier to get to the gym – but once it rings, you think of every excuse in the book not to go to the gym.
 
“It’s too comfy in bed, let me sleep in for another 5 minutes”

“What was I thinking, let me rather gym after work”

“This is ridiculous, I need my sleep to be more productive for work today – after all it IS a busy day”

…every. Single. Excuse. In. The Book.
 
This is how your mind works. As soon as you set your mind toward a goal, your clever grey matter comes along and reminds you why you should simply maintain the habit you’re currently hard wired to abide by.
Change, however, can only happen when old habits are challenged, broken, and recreated.

So in essence, The 5 Second Rule works like this: decisions are said to be separated by 5 second intervals, according to Robbins. Instead of allowing the cortex of your brain (responsible for rational thought) to talk you out of anything, you give yourself a count down of 5 seconds and PUSH yourself into action (yup – that’s The 5 Second Rule in a nutshell).
By short-circuiting your brain’s opportunity to rationalise every single reason why you SHOULD NOT attempt to tackle that goal, and physically pushing your body FORWARD into action, you take advantage of what psychologists’ term “meta-awareness”. In essence, you by-pass the pre-cortex’s capacity to paralyse you, and act upon instinct. Once you’ve physically thrown yourself out of bed, got dressed for gym and dragged your ass to gym, you’re sitting on that exercise bike think “hey, that wasn’t so bad”.

Does Motivation really exist?

Robbins postulates that the notion of motivation is nonsense. Debatable I know – but hear her out. She explains that The 5 Second Rule does not make the attainment of the goal easier. Its just as hard as it was before. The 5 Second Rule simply puts ACTION into the pursuit of that goal. And with action, comes inspiration, and with inspiration – the continuity of action until that goal is attained. See – it’s a dynamic process.

How can I use The 5 Second Rule?

The 5 Second Rule can be used by anyone, across any culture, for just about anything. Robbins created and utilised the rule to salvage her life from financial ruin, her marriage from imminent failure, and inject new life into her stagnating career. People across the world have sworn by the effectiveness of its use. Yes… a silly, stupid (her words, not mine) 5 Second Rule is capable of helping you achieve your most ambitious aspirations.

Want to learn more?

The birth of The 5 Second Rule came into being purely by accident. After delivering a Ted talk, Robbins threw in her “silly” rule at the end of her speech - more as an afterthought than anything else. But after receiving over 100 000 accounts from individuals across the world, verifying the effectiveness of this ‘rule’, Robbins decided to get to work and studied why such a thing would be so effective, for so many people. Armed with behaviour psychology, bio-chemical research of the brain, habitual studies from professionals and of course the qualitative data gained from those who swore by its effectiveness, Robbins now offers guidance on how to apply this incredible tool to all facets of your life.

The moral of the story? Success is attainable. And it shouldn’t have to wait until the dawn of a New Year to attempt to tackle your small or even ambitious goals.

Try it for yourself and let me know your thoughts.
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To get your copy of The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins, click here.