Mel Robbins, one of the most renowned American motivational speaker advocates extensively for the “5- second rule” through her book with the same name. So, what exactly is the “5-second rule”? Most of us know what is right for us and which work to be done at a particular time but we keep delaying our tasks until the last minute only to find ourselves stuck in the vicious cycle of procrastination.

Most of the time, the fear of failing at the tasks leads to the postponement of necessary decisions and actions. As per the “5-second rule”, as soon as you have any ‘instinct’ to do something, you need to push yourself to act within 5 seconds before your brain finds reasons to destroy that impulse. In other words, if you don’t act instantly after the ‘instinct’, the brain might find excuses, fears and distractions to deviate you from your commitment. For instance, if you have a goal to wake up early in the morning, get up as soon as the alarm bell rings without hitting the snooze button.

According to Mel Robbins, our brain is programmed to save us from the things that are uncertain and frightful to us. So, if you have something to do in your mind like opting for a healthy diet, working on your passion, etc. and you are apprehensive of it, just count 5-4-3-2-1 and move ahead with it. The central idea is to push yourself forcefully at the slightest of urge and initiate something you always wanted to do. Don’t allow your insecurities and boundaries of your comfort zone to restrict you from achieving your desired goal.