How to Wake Up Early Using the 5 Second Rule
Isn’t it such a shame we tend to wait to do things until we are “ready”. Let me break it to you (and to myself because I am a victim of this), you are never going to be ready to do anything. You just have to go for it. Good news: it is simple — but not easy.
Waking up early is something we all struggle with. I remember back in the days when I was in Middle/High School, I used to think “I can’t wait to be an adult so that I will never have to wake up early again.” Oh, how I wish I could speak to that little girl now and tell her that is not the case for adulthood.
Mel Robbins — an American on-air CNN commentator, television host, life coach, author, motivational speaker, contributing editor for Success and basically the most bad-ass lady boss out there wrote a life-changing book called “The 5 Second Rule”. This book has changed the mindset of so many people, including mine. She has allowed people to change their perspective and allowed people to stop making excuses and to take action with their life.
Mel says you are not a procrastinator, you have a habit of procrastinating. You are not a worrier, you have a habit of worrying. This also applies to your thoughts. You have the thoughts of self-doubt because you have the habit of thinking of such thoughts. This is a big difference. Mel says half of your day is spent on auto-pilot, and psychology and research also proves this fact. So, whatever daily habit you have of doing, it is due to the fact that when you initiate a new action, your brain will naturally figure out a way to do it next time around without much thought and work. Your brain is pretty cool in that way, huh? Although, Mel suggests that we get out of that routine for some of our daily routines. Being on auto-pilot does not help us in other aspects of our lives.
As many of you may know, I love motivational quotes, videos or anything that really gets me going, but none of it means anything if I don’t take action. For me personally, this is my way to take action of things I am uncomfortable with doing. But if that doesn’t work for you, you may want to incorporate Mel Robbins’ 5 second rule.
Research shows that 90% of your decisions are made with feelings. Mel also says we make our decisions with feelings, but she says you need to stop using your feelings and instead use your brain. If you keep using your feelings to make decisions, then you are never going to ‘feel’ like doing anything. She says you have a 5 second window to listen to your instincts and to your inner wisdom, which are the things that can change your life. You have a 5 second timeframe to make a decision with using your inner wisdom and instinct to make the decisions you don’t feel like doing.
Next time you need to make a decision — could be decision to go to the gym, to work on a project you’ve been wanting to work on, to finally look for a new job, to make that call that you’ve been scared to make, to wake up early, etc., — try the 5 second rule. So, the next time you say “you should do this”, count in your head backwards to 5 seconds, then go do it before your time is up. If you let that time pass by, then you will allow feelings to creep in. When feelings creep in, we all know what comes next — you don’t feel like doing it. The reason Mel says to count backwards is because your brain is not used to counting backwards, which can get you out of your auto-pilot ways. The 5 second rule awakens your pre-frontal cortex and allows you to listen to your inner wisdom. If you want to learn all of the facts and research behind it, I would suggest you purchase her book here.
Mel says it took 3 years to write her new book “The 5 Second Rule”, which has all the science backed research behind the 5 second rule. I have not read it yet and it is on my list of books I am looking to read and know that it will be life changing. I found out about her 5 second rule from her TEDx talk back in 2015. Then following that, I read her book “Stop Saying You’re Fine.” Honestly, I feel like I can attribute my habit of waking up early to her. This was back when I first started my first “real” job — the 9-5 lifestyle, and I had no idea how to incorporate going to the gym and doing the things I used to love in college with my now “real” life. I used to think it would be crazy to wake up at 5 just to go to the gym! Who does that? No one wakes up that early! Well, I thankfully changed that habit way of thinking. I listened to her TEDx speech, whilst in the process of trying to wake up early but failing. You can listen to it here, if interested. After I listened to this, each morning that I would attempt to wake up, her voice and the 5 second rule was in my head, and I just forced myself to wake up, until it became a habit.
A morning routine that feels best for you is a great way to set the tone for the day. For me, that is to wake up meditate, write, exercise and read. That’s when I feel the calmest and feel accomplished and ready to have the most magical day! If you want a more in depth of what I do most mornings, you can read this post here.
It is truly important to have an established morning routine, to be able get your day started the way you want to start it an do the things that will allow you to have a peaceful mindset. When you do this, you get the choice of starting your day the way you want to start it, and not the way circumstances happen throughout the day. When you also wake up early and take care of you, you allow your mind and soul to grow. When you grow and are flourishing, you get a chance to share that love unto others.
Did you know that scientists have done the research and it shows that the odds of you being born at the exact moment with your DNA is 1 in 400 trillion!!!! I’ve learned this from Mel’s TEDx video and was shocked of the fact. If you don’t think you matter and aren’t special then keep reminding yourself of this fact. You matter because your instincts and your inner wisdom is important to this world. You have life changing ideas for a reason. You have a purpose. You are so special and that is why I think you should start each day with a kickass morning routine!
To incorporate the 5 second rule to your morning routine, follow these steps:
- Set your alarm to an hour earlier than you would normally wake up
- Set your intentions the night before — maybe listen to something motivational before bed to get you hyped up for the morning
- Wake up with a purpose — count in your head backwards to 5 and get out of your bed within those 5 seconds. Don’t question it, don’t let those feelings come into play of your decision and just rise quickly
- Drink some water to gain energy and have a kickass morning!
Like I’ve said, it’s simple….but not easy. This will take some work on your end, but if you don’t let your feelings come through, then you will be successful. If you don’t let the thoughts of “Ugh, I don’t feel like waking up” or “I don’t feel like going to the gym” or “I don’t feel like I need to accomplish anything today” and just take action within the 5 second timeframe, then you will be able to listen to your inner wisdom and take action quickly.
I hope this is helpful in allowing you to accomplish your biggest dreams and I hope that you know that no dream is ‘too big’. You are capable of so much and have so much to offer to this world — just keep on dreaming and working hard!
If you need more help on this topic, here is my other post on how to wake up early.
Thank you so much for reading.
Until next time,
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“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.” – Maya Angelou
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