Mel Robbins - The Real 5 Second Rule
May 06, 2019
Brian Lord
President
In a recent podcast with Brian Lord at Beyond Speaking, Mel Robbins inspired listeners with her no-nonsense, no-excuses approach to life. Wrestling with a life that seemed to be falling apart around her, she decided she’d had enough of her “train wreck” existence and that it was time to do something about it.
What did she do? She stopped hitting the snooze button. She knew that if she gave herself too much time to think about what she would do when she got up, that it wouldn’t take her long to talk herself out of every good idea she had. That negative self-talk wasn’t serving her very well, so she decided to launch herself out of bed like a rocket, before the self-doubt and negative talk could stop her.
The countdown had begun…literally! She said, “5,4,3,2,1!” She was out of bed before she got to number one and that’s how “The Real 5 Second Rule” catapulted her into being a sought-after motivational speaker and guru for women in business. The 5-Second Rule opens a window of time that pushes you to move forward before you talk yourself out of doing what you feel instinctively you should do.
When you’ve been successful and then hit a wall, you struggle with making good decisions to rebuild your future. An alarm clock serves as a metaphor for those moments in the day when you know you should do something that will be good for you. You’re getting a signal that you need to act, and you only have five seconds before you will talk yourself out of what you could do. If you want positive change, you have to be decisive. You have to choose to move in some direction.
Entrepreneurs always need to level up, and that means getting out of your comfort zone, pushing yourself forward and not allowing fear to hold you back. You can’t let worry and anxiety stop you.
Worry is the habit of thinking negative thoughts. Anxiety is the big sister that says your body is agitated…your sweaty, nervous, and ready to panic. Your brain signals an alarm that you’re in trouble, so you have to police your worries.
Success in life is about a positive attitude and execution. Retrain your mind to break the habit of worry and transform your thoughts and you will cut off anxiety at its knees.
Anxiety is on the rise, but you cannot cure it by simply telling yourself to “calm down.” Since you can’t just calm down, anxiety gets worse. Instead, ask yourself questions that can cause you to refocus and lift you from worry. “Why am I anxious? What am I afraid of? What can I do to make things better?”
When you’re nervous about something, you can try to reframe the nervousness and tell yourself, “I’m excited” to speak to a group, take a big test, do a job interview, or whatever, and then your body and mind will respond in a more positive way.
Another bit of wisdom from Robbins is that you can up your game by becoming part of a group where people are somewhat ahead of you in your field. You can learn from them and become energized by them. Being a part of this group will also keep you grounded and remind you that you are in a relationship business where you may be good at what you do, but it’s not all about you. It keeps you humble in good ways and reminds you that you do not become successful all by yourself.
Trust your gut! Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. Instead, act on those things you know are right for you. Ready? Say...5,4,3,2,1!
Listen to the podcast episode.
To book Mel for your next event, visit her profile: https://premierespeakers.com/mel-robbins
Mel’s most recent book title is: The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence With Everyday Courage. To order copies in bulk for your event, please visit Bulk Books, Amazon or 800ceoread.com