Motivating yourself to do something you’re less than thrilled about - whether it’s getting up earlier or decluttering your home - is easier said than done. Whilst there are several amazing ways to stay motivated with a new workout routine, American author and podcast host Mel Robbins has just one simple trick to stop talking herself out of things.
Appearing on This Morning on 9th June to discuss her new book, The Let Them Theory, she revealed that she was inspired by a rocket launch countdown to create the 5-Second Rule.
"Motivation is complete garbage. Motivation is complete and utter rubbish, as you would say because it is never there when you need it. I mean, if motivation were easy we’d all have a million dollars and six-pack abs," she declared. We’d all be living our dream life. The secret to life, honest to goodness, is making yourself do the things you don’t feel like doing."
Her 5-Second Rule was based upon the popular belief of the same name, where if you drop a piece of food on the floor and pick it up within five seconds, it’s supposedly ok to eat.
Mel explained, "If you have an idea and you think about it for longer than five seconds, your mind contaminates your desire to do it."
To avoid talking herself out of something she doesn’t really want to do, the author counts backwards from five before immediately doing it.
"The hack that I had was, I just was inspired by this rocket launch and I started counting backwards. Every morning I’d be lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about all my problems, rotting away like a human pot roast. And then I would just start counting backwards five, four, three, two, one and then I would get out of bed," she said.
It might sound very easy - and that’s because it is - but Mel believes that you’ve "gotta move in five seconds" to get that burst of motivation and not put yourself off. This technique is something that she has used to "push" herself into being motivated day-to-day.
Mel said she used this "little countdown thing five, four, three, two, one to push myself everyday through the anxiety" and excuses.
"I think we all know what we need to do but we’re waiting to feel ready to do it and that’s the trap," she concluded.
Her 5-Second Rule revelation on This Morning came just a few weeks after Mel appeared on an episode of The Rich Roll Podcast and spoke of how important mindset truly is. She focuses on her mantra that there’s no way working as hard as she does, that she would not be rewarded, and finds this creates momentum and resolve to achieve her goals.
She stated, "You have to believe that this moment is preparing you for something amazing that hasn’t happened yet. Keep going. And so, I repeated that over and over and over and over and over again as I wanted to throw in the towel, as I would start to bash myself, as I would start to feel sorry for myself."
"And when you get yourself into that mindset it creates a sense of resilience and momentum and resolve that you need in order to keep going," she continued.
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