Not too long ago, we had fun taking a quick tour through Mel Robbins’s wise and funny brain and book.
We talked quite a bit about her 5 Second Rule but I realized I never formally defined it for us in her words.
Here’s the official 5 Second Rule: “The Moment you have an instinct to act on a goal you must 5-4-3-2-1 and physically move or your brain will stop you.”
That’s worth a re-read and contemplation of each component: “The Moment you have an instinct to act on a goal you must 5-4-3-2-1 and physically move or your brain will stop you.”
Emphasis on “the moment” + “instinct to act” + “on a goal” … + “physically move” or “your brain will stop you”! 🤓
The more I think about and play with this Tool-Rule in my own life, the more I love it.
I’ve gotta say: It’s a pretty epic way to close that gap between who you’re CAPABLE of being and who you’re ACTUALLY being.
You know those two lines we draw all the time? The one at the top representing who you’re CAPABLE of being and the one below it representing who you’re ACTUALLY being?
Well, imagine yourself at that bottom line going through your day.
Then you get an “instinct to act on a goal” (whether that’s picking up a piece of laundry so you can have a clean house or sitting down to do some Deep Work so you can hit your creative goals or whatever else pops up for you…).
Then what?
Then we initiate the 5 Second Rule. 5-4-3-2-1-GO!
Imagine strapping on a jet pack and launching yourself from the lower line to the line above it.
I’m laughing as I type that but I must say that this might just be the most elegantly fun way to operationalize areté we’ve discovered so far!
If you feel so inspired, try it out today the next time you have an instinct to act on a goal.
“Optimus. Let’s strap on our jet packs…”
5-4-3-2-1-GO!
👨🚀 🚀
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