“It’s not the minutes that matter, it’s the seconds that count.” This seed was planted in the minds of over 2,000 Neighborly Reunion attendees when Mel Robbins took the stage for her keynote address, and to share her secret weapon: The Five Second Rule. She gifted us with this simple, yet GENIUS life hack for replacing self-doubt with confidence, nervousness with excitement, and procrastination with action… all in five second’s time. If you're looking for inspiration to achieve your personal and professional New Year's resolutions, read this recap!
So, what is The Five Second Rule? It has been scientifically proven that by simply interrupting our brain’s pattern of jumping straight to excuses, we can train ourselves to pivot from hesitation to action during stressful moments… in five seconds flat. How? Robbins taught us that in moments of stress where we might typically default to making excuses or procrastinating, if you simply count down from five before your brain has a chance to decide FOR you how it will respond… those five seconds will allow you a chance to get in control of your emotions and behavior before you speak or act.
At the core of her message, Robbins stressed to us that we all have a responsibility to change the way we talk to ourselves. The “self-doubt bubble” that fills our minds CAN be deflated and replaced by positive self-talk and sound decision-making if we simply count down from five and GO. So she challenged Reunion attendees to confront our biggest pain points, and beat our excuses to the punch by introducing The Five Second Rule as a means to kick-starting change in a small, manageable way. This small change in how you approach problem solving and decision making can help incite the long-lasting, impactful change you’ve been needing in your lives and businesses.
“There’s literally always an excuse not to do it,” she said. And she’s right. So many issues we face in business are not shrouded in mystery. We are simply caught in the vicious cycle of blaming someone else, procrastinating, making excuses, or worse... succumbing to apathy. The majority of you in the family of Neighborly brands have said your biggest pain point is in recruiting and retaining employees. What’s unfortunate is that many of you know exactly what can be done to improve your hiring process and management style, but simply haven’t found a way to step out of your comfort zone and take action.
So what can you do TODAY to get on track? Start by taking advantage of the resources available to you such as the RARE toolbox and CareerPlug. And if you want to improve as a leader, consider stepping back and evaluating how you impact those around you - whether it’s customers or employees. Robbins pointed out how at the core of Neighborly, the law of reciprocity lives. The power of appreciation can impact your relationships with your customers, your employees, and yourself. Positively impacting our communities through providing service and creating jobs is something to be proud of! But it all starts from the person staring back at you in the mirror. You must be willing to change.
It’s easy to talk about change, but it’s difficult to actually change. And many of us were perhaps skeptical to accept that such a simple trick could possibly be life-changing. Heck, Robbins herself prefaced her talk with this: “I want to warn you, when you first hear what I’m about to share with you, you’re going to think it’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard in your entire life.
But please do not make the mistake of dismissing everything I’m about to share with you just because the ideas are simple.” Thankfully we leaned in, had some laughs with Robbins, and learned that while The Five Second Rule might sound too good to be true… it was crazy enough it just might work.
Robbins’ impact was apparent by the end of her hour on stage; there were tears in our eyes, hope in our hearts, and plans of action put to paper. We hope you felt a connection to the message shared, and encourage you to rewatch her piece on the livestream links provided by Neighborly.
One decision can change everything. How will you change? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1....go!