Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule
“It’s the stupidest thing. I was going to count myself down from 5, then leap out of my bed like a ROCKET SHIP!”
This is Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule, a mental trick that has helped thousands of people transform their lives, and 3 people from commiting suicide.
Who is Mel Robbins?
Robbins is an American author and speaker, dedicating her time to spreading the word of the 5-second rule. At 40, her family were in a dire situation after her husband expanded their restaurant business, sending them into bankruptcy, wiping out their children’s college savings and putting their home equity line in danger.
Robbins described how every morning her husband would leap out of bed at 6am to try and solve this conundrum with his business partner, whilst she would hide under the covers, unable to beat her habit of pressing the snooze button. As she states, “What I had to do wasn’t hard. Wake up on time, get the kids ready for school, find a job.”
Her life changed completely by implementing the 5 Second Rule…
What is the 5 Second Rule
“First of all, I would’ve called it something different, because it reminds you of picking off food from the floor in 5 seconds” Robbins joked.
She explains how she was watching a NASA rocket ship launch on TV, and it struck her how she would move as the rocket ship moved. She would count backwards from 5 to 1 and do the action. She would move so fast that her brain could not stop her.
She repeats “it’s the stupidest thing” over and over in the interview I have listened to about 20 times, because at first, it does sound a little stupid. BUT. IT. WORKS.
· Count downwards from 5 to 1, and immediately do the act (e.g. getting out of bed)
· You move so fast that it overrides your brain’s pattern of hesitation
· You must count downwards as it’s more complex for your brain (not upwards as you can keep going forever)
The reason this theory works so fantastically is because it helps people, anybody, everybody, from overcoming niggling procrastinating habits, to overcoming contemplating taking their own life. It has been widely accredited in the world of self-help as a fantastically simple, yet helpful theory.
Does it work
Absolutely. As you put this theory into practice, as Robbins sets out, this theory most definitely works. The most effective way I have found to implement this theory is to write out a to-do list and accomplish them in one go using the 5 second rule.
This rule has massively increased my daily productivity, not just because it has helped me complete tasks quicker, but something Robbins stated had a profound effect on my thinking “you’ll realise how much garbage you’re putting in the way”. And it’s true. So now, instead of picking up my phone as a means of procrastination, and falling down an endless rabbit hole of YouTube videos, I get the action done. Simple as.