The 5 Seconds Rule : Life Changer

It often happens that we desperately want to achieve a goal, complete a task, or fulfil our commitments, but lack the motivation to do so kills the opportunities for us.

Don’t you worry, the 5 seconds rule by Mel Robins is a life changer.Now, we all have heard about the five seconds rule to pick up our dropped food, but the 5 seconds rule here helps us pick our lives up from the mess and move forward.

According to the five seconds rule, if you want to achieve something, you have to act upon it within the 5 seconds in which the thought has surfaced your mind. If you want to do you homework, do it within the 5 seconds that you think of it, even if you don’t feel like it. Just get up, get going, move.

Count form 5-4-3-2-1 ad go.When we act on these instincts and desires to do something, we activate our brain and prepare ourselves for the task within the five seconds. This window between the moment you have an instinct to change and your mind killing it is five seconds.

We count from 5-1 in an descending order, not 1-5, this is because, counting backwards limits our chances of extending the number sequence and time for us to act.The brain is activated and has no time to think of other alternatives of stalling the course of action by excuses and procrastination. This rule also helps you build healthy habits and break from the monotony of life.

Our brain is very protective of us, the moment we give it time and let it choose, it will always make sure that we stick to our comfort zones, not with the challenging possibilities that are hard for us to work on. So, we trick our mind and train it, prevent it from holding us back, this is called metacognition.

The rule is also backed by scientific evidence, with activation of our prefrontal cortex for decision making, cultivation of internal locus of control, the principle of momentum, the progress principle, to the concept of behavioural flexibility.

It might sound simple, but it’s not easy. It’s the little instincts we act on, that help us reach our future goals. The 5 seconds rule helps us move from an autopilot mode, break our habits and to take control. Mel Robins believes that we shouldn’t wait for motivation, it doesn’t come to us and we’re never going to feel like it. We should start working on ourselves with little steps. We know what we should be doing, but we usually don’t.

The 5 seconds rule helps us make little changes, alter our habits, our everyday routine and reach our goals by pushing us to do what we need to do.