I’m a huge action taker, but it’s not always ‘easy’ to spring into action…especially when there’s a daunting task or phone call I need to make. Sound familiar?
About a year ago, I found out about Mel Robbins’ 5 Second Rule to overcoming ANYTHING, and I have to say, it’s pretty miraculous when I do it. I listened to the full audiobook of The 5 Second Rule, but recently I stumbled upon this free podcast that pretty much sums up the book in 26 minutes. And I’ll sum it up in two minutes for you here:
Whenever you know you need to do something that is in line with your ultimate vision, start counting from five to one backwards, and then SPRING into action.
Let’s take an example. You have to make a cold call…typically no fun…and typically there’s actually no one that enjoys it. You KNOW you need to do it today, and the reality is, you are totally dragging your feet. Now:
- State the task that needs to be done.
- Count backwards: 5-4-3-2-1
- Do it
Something about counting backwards activates your brain to spring into motion, and it’s also a finite time period in which you allow the delay (i.e. if you counted up from 1 to 5 instead of backwards, you technically could just keep on counting…and counting…you catch the drift).
You can use this trick with work of course, AND it’s also a miracle worker to do things like exercising, getting out of bed, walking OUT of the kitchen after a meal, etc.