5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

Masterful Mindsets ~ Spring Forward in Five Seconds!

“The time is now. Stop hitting the snooze button on your life.”  ~ Mel Robbins

Question: 

How often do you get an impulse to take action on a dream or goal and then talk yourself out of it? How would your life be different if you could spring into action as quickly as you spring forward on the clock?

Action Challenge:

Yesterday was Daylight Savings Time, which means we all had to “Spring Forward”. In an instant, we moved ahead one hour. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could move ahead on a goal or dream that fast?

Of course, the simple action of clicking the numbers on your clock only takes about 5 seconds but taking action on a goal… well that can be an entirely different story. It can take hours, days, years. Not because it has to but because we let fear hold us back. So we hesitate, we procrastinate, we allow distraction (we hit the snooze button on our lives) and too often, we talk ourselves out of it and we just don’t do it at all. But what if taking action could happen just as quickly as springing forward on the clock? What if it could happen in 5 seconds? How might your life be different if you took rapid action on your goals and dreams?

I was recently talking to a colleague of mine and admittedly discussing a project that I’d been putting off. I was stuck and I was procrastinating. He said, “Why don’t you use Mel Robbins’ 5 second rule?” And in that moment, I realized, he was right. That was the perfect thing to get me moving forward. I also realized that admittedly, I hadn’t used the rule for a while and I probably had several areas in my life where I could be using it. So I did… I put the rule into action and as a result, got myself into action. I’ve been using it every since and have been busting through tasks lately just as quick as springing forward!

So what is The 5 Second Rule? It’s really simple but extremely powerful. (And no, I’m not talking about dropping food on the floor and eating it right away.)  

Basically, the concept is that there is a window of time that exists between the moment you have a gut instinct to change or take action and your mind killing it. It’s a 5 second window. And it exists for everyone.

If you do not take action on your impulse to change or take action, you will stay stagnant. You will not change.

So when you feel yourself hesitate before doing something that you know you ought to do, count 5-4-3-2-1-GO and then immediately move into action.

This is how you push yourself to do the hard stuff – the work that you don’t feel like doing, you’re avoiding or you’re scared of doing but you know you ought to do. The counting will focus you on the goal or commitment and distract you from the worries, thoughts, and excuses in your mind.

That’s it. 5 seconds is all it takes. You count down from 5… then you spring forward into action! I told you it was simple and just as quick as springing forward on the clock.

Just remember this, if you don’t act on the instinct or urge within that 5 second window, you won’t do it. You’ve got to take action – physical action – as soon as you get to 1. Trust me on this. You will let your mind talk you out of it and you will lose your drive to spring into action if you wait.

So again, the 5 Second Rule is simple – If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it. That’s it!

My challenge to you is to stop hitting the snooze button on your life. Instead, start springing forward into action on all those goals and dreams you’ve been putting off. Give this concept a try and let me know how it works for you. Oh and if you want to know more… like the psychology behind this simple concept. (It has a lot to do with how your brain works.) Check out Mel’s book, The 5 Second Rule.

***Join me tomorrow, Tuesday, March 12th at 11am PT/2pm ET for Facebook Live on my Facebook Biz Page: Coach Michelle Weimer. I’ll be sharing more about the psychology behind this concept and why it works.