Today i want to talk about a really simple, but extremelt effective technique. It’s called the 5 Second Rule (and not the one that involves food and the floor). It’s the subject of a book by Mel Robbins launched in 2017.
It is a super simple tool to use to get out of thinking and into action. With all that the past year has thrown at us, we are all exhausted and that means we are more prone to thinking not acting. But actually times like these are primed for us to take control and to do that we need to take action.
It’s a tool to use to improve yourself to make better decisions and to break the habits of self-doubt, worry and anxiety. It works in less than 5 seconds, is backed by science and there is literally tones of evidential proof that it works. It sounds really stupid because it’s just too simple, but it’s actually really clever!
So, the moment you feel yourself hesitating to do something you need to do, or you lack motivation to do, or won’t take a risk on, find it hard to get started on something; you simply count backwards 5,4,3,2,1 and give yourself a little push. (push the excuse aside and step into your power). This cartoon explain it really well…
This is actually a form of meta-cognition – that means it is a simple trick you can use to outsmart your brain to further your higher/own goals.
I’ve written in several blogs about the sub-conscious brain, and as you’ll remember we spend 95% of the day being run by our sub-conscious based on belief and habits that are neurally encoded in the brain – in what are called habit-loops and they are held in the basal ganglia.
When you count backwards you are interrupting those habit loops and awakening your pre-frontal cortex which is the part of the brain that is conscious and what we need to be active when you are changing behaviour, when you’re taking control, when you’re taking action, or doing something new.
So this simple trick that anyone can do anywhere is actually changing your brain.
Research in this space, more commonly called “the golden rule of habits” states that once you have a habit (encoded in your brain), there is only one way to break it – replace it with something else. The fastest way to do that is with a starting ritual (cue or trigger that signals the start of a routine). And that is what the 5 second rule is.
It triggers you to start a different pattern. That comes from the pre-frontal cortex!! It helps create immediate behaviour change, and over time it will become a new habit based on the habit loop.
What in reality this new habit will be is confidence. Confidence is not a personality trait or a belief in yourself it’s the ability to take thought and put it into action. You prove that you are confident when you stop thinking and do what is important to you.
(as an aside – ladies – just for you! This is especially important for us!! – there has been so much research about this – the confidence gap between men and women at work – for women to be more confident at work they have to stop thinking and act. You can’t wait to feel like it, you build the belief in yourself by proving to yourself that you can rely on yourself. You start to build confidence in your idea when you see yourself sharing them, so when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, your mind and confidence falls in line. This works fundamentally differently in men due to their levels of testosterone!)
What all this does is reduce the gap between thinking and action – that’s where you discover the power of your decisions, your contributions, your ability to make extraordinary differences. We’ve all trained ourselves in that gap to stop and think about the little things –and that is killing possibility, innovation and success. So this tool stop us thinking and helps us to find the courage and confidence to do the things we know we should do.
Research shows that it’s typically used in 3 main ways
To push yourself – to go to gym, make that sales call, write that email, raise that point in a meeting; or to pull themselves away from destructive behaviour – micro-management, perfectionism, alcohol etc.
To find Courage – ability to do things that feel difficult or outside our comfort zone – write that first chapter, make that call, do that presentation, overcome procrastination or hesitation
Fundamentally alter your mindset – beat worrying, self-doubt, and anxiety
“Hesitation is the kiss of death. You might hesitate for just a nanosecond, but that’s all it takes. That one small hesitation triggers a mental system that is designed to stop you. And it happens in less than – you guessed it – five seconds.” Mel Robbins
Note this is for instinctual or impulsive behaviour – what you know you should or should not be doing. It is not appropriate for more strategic decisions – like those that are legally binding – what is required there is the deep and slow thinking (which we discussed in Blog – Problem Solving)
What I love about this, is that it’s different from a lot of advice in this sort of theme/arena as it is not a thinking process. A lot of techniques – thoughts become things, law of attraction, meditation, design thinking, fake it till you make it etc – these are all thinking exercises. This is the opposite this is all about stopping thinking and actually doing!
And I am sure most of you will agree that we spend a lot of time thinking and talking and we have got to get to that doing... It’s time to stop thinking – we now need to take action.
Until next time…
