I used to be a person who enjoyed setting elaborate goals at the beginning of the year, just to realize how few of them I had accomplished when it was time to sit down and set them again. Yes, I’m talking about those pesky New Year’s resolutions, but I began to realize this way of being was trickling into other areas of my life. Does this sound familiar?
This is because as human beings, our brains are hard-wired for survival and will protect us from things that feel scary, hard or uncertain. This is beautifully explained in the book I recently read (ehem, listened to via audio book), “The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage”, by Mel Robbins.
In her book, the 5 Second Rule is defined as follows; The moment you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will stop you. Mel Robbins goes on to explain that there is a window of time that exists between the moment you have an instinct to change and your mind killing it. No wonder my commitments seem to pile up like the loads of laundry I can’t get around to folding.
The objective is to simply count backwards to yourself: 5-4-3-2-1, and as soon as you reach “1”-push yourself to move. It’s a way of pushing yourself to tackle the tasks that are hard or that you are avoiding. While this rule can be applied to anything you wish, perhaps you’d care to join me in the adventure of movement and staying active this season and throughout the year.
Regular movement is an investment in your mind, body and soul. By pushing yourself regularly to meet even the smallest of movement goals, you may begin to experience better sleep, more energy, sharper memory and thinking, higher self-esteem and stronger resilience when facing other physical, mental or emotional challenges in life.
The obstacles that often hold us back from moving our bodies include feeling exhausted or overwhelmed, feeling pain, feeling hopeless about taking the first step or even feeling self-conscious about ourselves. Of course, if it’s pain you feel or extra weight that you’re carrying, you’ll want to talk to your healthcare provider first. Perhaps you’ll “5-4-3-2-1” it to make an appointment with your Naturopathic physician or wellness provider. Maybe it’s time to explore your behaviors and habits with hypnotherapy or address your health issues with colon hydrotherapy, Decongestive Lymphatic therapy, craniosacral therapy or massage. You get my drift.
For me, I’ll be using the 5 Second Rule to cross the finish line of my city’s half marathon this coming month. I’ve been using it to get myself off the couch, into my running shoes, out of my head and into my heart. It’s helped me to make wiser choices regarding my nutrition and hydration and to enjoy some of the wellness modalities I listed above. Who’s with me? 5-4-3-2-1-GO!