The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

by Mel Robbins

The moment that you realize your feelings are the problem, you now have the ability to beat them.

that explains why change is hard. Logically, we know what we should do, but our feelings about doing it make our decision for us.

If you only act when you feel like it, you will never get what you want.

must learn how to separate what you feel from the actions that you take.

You can’t control how you feel. But you can always choose how you act.

Feelings are merely suggestions,

You must ignore how you feel, and as Nike would tell you, Just Do It anyway.

the only way out is through.

We all doubt ourselves. That is the truth. The biggest mistake you could make is to buy into the lies your feelings are telling you. Do not wait until you feel like it.

By asserting control in that moment, she activates her prefrontal cortex so that she can drive her thoughts and actions. Then she opens her mouth and says, “I have an idea.”

This is how you build confidence—one five-second move at a time.

It’s about waking up the power of you and using it to shake up your life.

To reach your potential, you’ll have to push yourself—there is no other way.

you’ll never feel like it, you just have to 5- 4- 3- 2- 1-GO!

If you want to lose weight, follow a diet, and regularly exercise,

Your feelings don’t matter. The only thing that matters is what you DO.

she was “never going to feel like working out,”

Exercise is 100% mental.

Your body won’t go where your mind doesn’t push it.

And you rock too—when you push yourself to take action when you don’t feel like it.

Slipping is normal. There are days when you won’t feel like it. Remember, you can take control again. It takes just five seconds.

Life is about the choices we make.

Exercise and health comes down to one simple rule—you don’t have to feel like it. You just have to do it.

Productivity can be boiled down to one word—FOCUS.

that being addicted to your phone, texting, and answering emails is a distraction…

Interruptions of any sort are the kiss of death for your productivity.

Research shows open office spaces are a nightmare for focus.

You have to decide that your goals are more important than push notifications.

social media was making her less productive when she needed to focus

For peak productivity, you should NEVER hit the snooze button.

getting a good night’s sleep is important for productivity.

how you wake up is just as important as how you sleep.

Scientists have recently discovered that when you hit the snooze button it has a negative impact on brain function and producti...

can take up to four hours for this “sleep inertia” condition to wear off and for your cognitive functions to return to their full capacity.

because once you hit the snooze button, you started a new sleep cycle and then interrupted it.

SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely).

Start before you’re ready. Don’t prepare, begin. CHAPTER ELEVEN END PROCRASTINATION

The #5SecondRule is an incredible weapon in the fight against procrastination.

If you’re not getting the results that you want, give the project some time, go focus your energy somewhere else, and then come back later with fresh eyes.

if you are working on a creative project, and you don’t have a fixed deadline, it’s not procrastination

you let your work sit for a few weeks so you can let your mind wander. It’...

Destructive procrastination is an entirely different animal. It’s when we avoid the work we need to get done and know there will be negative consequences.

It’s anything that we find ourselves deliberately avoiding that really needs to get done.

For a long time, everyone believed procrastination meant poor time management skills, a lack of willpower, or lack of self-discipline. Boy, were we wrong. Procrastination is not a form of laziness at all. It’s a coping mechanism for stress.

We procrastinate because we feel stressed out.

It’s like emotional eating for the mind. When you avoid something that feels hard, you get a sense of relief.

The more often that you procrastinate, the more likely you’ll repeat the behavior.

While you get a small boost of relief when you watch cat videos, over time the work that you are avoiding builds and that creates more stress in your life.

I have very high expectations for myself and I literally go to sleep every night telling myself that tomorrow is going to be that fresh start that I need and I’m going to tackle everything with tons of energy. But then I fail day after day

he’s trapped in a vicious cycle of feeling disappointed in himself.