Finding Courage The Mel Robbins Way With The 5 Second Rule

Finding courage and breaking procrastination all starts with the countdown 5-4-3-2-1!! According to best-selling author and much sought-after motivational speaker Mel Robbins, this simple countdown can start the cycle of achieving what you want to do this minute-this day- this month- this year- and yes, this life! It’s all in her best selling book, “The 5 Second Rule”.

“If you can count to 5, you can change your life”-Mel Robbins

Finding Courage

Dreams. We all have them. Maybe you are in a job where you are the “new kid on the block” and you’re afraid to suggest changes you see might help your company. Maybe you don’t like your job. It might be that you just don’t have a job. Perhaps it’s a dream quest. Running a half-marathon. Learning to paint. Finally losing weight for good. It takes courage to make changes. It all takes courage. As Mel Robbins herself will attest, just getting out of bed to face the day takes courage. Enter-5-4-3-2-1!

The 5 Second Rule

Mel Robbins, had a time in her life when she hated even getting out of bed. Facing a day with no purpose, no positive outlook-why bother? She knew she needed change. You can read her entire story in her book, “The 5 Second Rule”. It all came to her one night while watching a rocket take off into space on TV and hearing the countdown. 5-4-3-2-1-Blastoff! The catapult. The move upwards and outwards. After the countdown came the spring into action. What if she could do the same thing? What if she set her alarm and when it went off, she would say the words 5-4-3-2-1-Go and immediately get out of bed. That would be a big start!

The very next morning, after hearing the alarm using what she termed as “the 5 second rule” she got straight out of bed. WOW! She would find herself throughout the day using this rule to complete tasks. It was more than she had accomplished in months! Her self-confidence was coming back. As time went on, life got even better as she used the 5 second rule to tackle even harder tasks. It was amazing how this simple countdown could drive you to take action, and it took her farther and with more hope than she had had in a very long time.

How It Works

In life, we like to ponder a lot of things. We are always thinking about what to do. When to do it. Is it the right time? Will it bother someone if I do it? We are constantly second-guessing the things we know we should be doing or have wanted to do for a very long time. For example, if we are procrastinating to start the laundry, if we say something to ourselves like “it’s time to do the laundry! 5-4-3-2-1-Go!”, we will be much more likely to start the laundry. We don’t have time to think about what’s on Facebook right now, or grab that last piece of cake before the hubby does, because we are too focused on the countdown and the ultimate blastoff. The point where we tackle the task at hand.

I started the 5 second rule, just getting out of bed in the morning and it amazes me just how much of a push that rule gives me to get my butt out of bed! I have used it to tackle tasks in my home and even to push myself to get blog posts finished I am writing!

Using The Rule To Make Lasting Change

“If you have the courage to start, you have the courage to succeed”-Mel Robbins

Using the 5 second rule to check things off of your “to-do list” is great! If you are a real procrastinator, the 5 second rule can help you break those tendencies. You can check out my blog post I wrote on procrastination called “The Procrastination Cycle (How To Get Off It and Be More Productive)” that will fit the 5 second rule in perfectly!

What about the tough changes? The big dream changes you’ve always wanted? Yes, you can achieve those too with one 5 second rule at a time. It won’t happen magically with one countdown. It’s a big dream! It’s going to take some work. You will be anxious and maybe even a bit fearful of what this change will mean to you overall. You just need to look at each task in hand and say to yourself, “5-4-3-2-1-GO!!” The more tasks you accomplish, the closer you will be to what you ultimately want. Each step takes courage and you can knock that out of the park!

Following a Dream Path

Use the 5 second rule to help you navigate through a dream path. Changing jobs. Going back to school. Ticking something off your bucket list. With some work, you can be one countdown away from reaching your dream.

Changing Habits

You can use the 5 second rule to change patterns in your life. Getting yourself on a regular routine for exercise, better eating or sleep habits. There are examples in the book, where people have written to Mel and talked about how the 5 second rule helped them kick habits such as drinking and drug addiction.

Use It To Change Negative Thoughts

“I can’t do this”. “So and so is so much smarter than me”. “I’m not enough”. 5-4-3-2-1-Stop with the negative talk-GO! Take that so-called power away from your mind and prove it wrong-one countdown at a time.

The 5 Second Rule Is Changing Lives

Being a lover of self-development, personal improvement, and self-help books, I was very interested and shocked that I had not already read this book. The book is full of examples of people who have written Mel and told her of their experiences with the 5 second rule and how it has changed their lives in very profound ways. For me, having just read the book, it’ll be interesting to see how this concept changes my life. I have definitely used it already with resounding success to get things ticked off my “list”, including getting out of bed in the morning.

What I definitely see in using this technique, while doing the countdown, I am distracting my mind from the second thoughts I always have. Getting to the number “1” is the signal to start. It’s automatic. It’s instinctive. The 5 second rule works! I look forward to using it to help me change or develop good habits and routines. I also look forward to using it along the way of the path to big dreams and goals ahead.

Get Your Copy Today

A personal copy that can be referenced again and again! I really enjoyed the audiobook from Audible. It was personally narrated by Mel Robbins and it left me with the feeling I was sitting in a large auditorium listening to her give one of her motivational speeches. It was fabulous and you could feel the passion she has for the technique in every chapter. Prepare to really hit your procrastination habits head on with this book. You are in charge! You have the courage to take those big steps. It’s as simple as 5-4-3-2-1!