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

“The 5 Second Rule changed everything…by teaching me just one thing: HOW to change.”

Robbins finds that often people cannot find the motivation to break out of their bad habits because they do not understand what change is and how to go about it. One of the main goals of her book is to explore what it means to change. The #5SecondRule works, Robbins argues, because it helps people become proactive in their daily lives. This builds a habit that contributes to greater changes in the long term.

“I knew what I should or could be doing to make things better, but I couldn’t make myself do those things. They were small things: getting up on time, being nicer to Chris, getting support from friends, drinking less, and taking better care of myself. But knowing what you need to do isn’t enough to create change.”

Robbins realized early on that the hardest tasks to find motivation for are often times, paradoxically, very simple. However, people lack the will to do them even if they logically know this will be beneficial in the long term. People act upon their feelings, not logic, and their emotions tell them to seek immediate comfort and gratification.

“When it comes to goals, dreams, and changing your life, your inner wisdom is a genius. Your goal-related impulses, urges, and instincts are there to guide you. You need to learn to bet on them.”

Here, Robbins explains that the Rule is relevant whenever people’s instincts tell them they should act. Generally, these are very simple tasks on the surface but require courage to execute. Robbins believes people possess an inner wisdom that alerts them whenever doing something contributes to their dreams or long-term goals; they should not pass up the chance.

“Forget motivation; it’s a myth. I don’t know when we all bought into the idea that in order to change you must ‘feel’ eager or ‘feel’ motivated to act. It’s complete garbage. The moment it’s time to assert yourself, you will not feel motivated. In fact, you won’t feel like doing anything at all. If you want to improve your life, you’ll need to get off your rear end and kick your own butt. In my world, I call that the power of a push.”

In this passage, Robbins explains that motivation is not what ultimately pushes people to be proactive. This is because people will never “feel” like doing difficult tasks: The brain will always choose to do the easiest and most immediately rewarding task. Forcing the body to move using the #5SecondRule is what ultimately provides the push toward acting. Here, Robbins uses colloquial conversational language to connect with her reader: “It’s complete garbage.”

“There’s nothing more powerful than the feeling of confidence and pride you gain when you keep trudging forward, face life’s challenges head on, and push yourself to change for the better.”

Robbins argues that the #5SecondRule can be beneficial to everybody. Although it does not guarantee that everybody will be successful, the Rule trains people to find their inner courage one small task at a time. Over time, this allows people to feel confident in themselves—it is this empowerment that is the ultimate reward.

“Start by counting backwards to yourself: 5- 4- 3- 2- 1. The counting will help you focus on the goal or commitment and distract you from your worries, thoughts, and fears in your mind. As soon as you reach ‘1,’ move. That’s it.”

Robbins simultaneously explains how to use the #5SecondRule and why she feels it works. Counting back from five resets our train of thought and reorients it toward the task at hand. Once the countdown ends, people are then more ready to move. It is this movement that allows people to commit to acting.

“That’s what courage is. It’s a push. The kind of push we give ourselves when we stand up, speak up, show up, go first, raise our hand or do whatever feels hard, scary, or uncertain.”

One of the central goals of this book is to help readers find their inner courage. In this passage, Robbins defines courage not as an innate personality trait, but as the force behind proactiveness. This means that people can hone it. Individuals can change when they find the courage to act.

“There is no ‘right time’ to improve your life. The moment you move you’ll discover your strength.”

This is one of the central arguments the book advances: There is never a right time for change, and people are never completely ready. Instead of waiting, people should use the Rule to start immediately. In other words, the right time to act is always in the moment.

“When you wait, you aren’t procrastinating. You are doing something more dangerous. You are deliberately convincing yourself ‘now is not the time.’ You are actively working against your dreams.”

This quote touches upon a central point about waiting: It is dangerous in the long run because it becomes a habit. Given that there is never a right time to act, waiting is always a fruitless endeavor. Acting in the moment is what contributes to realizing our dreams.

“None of us realize it, but we make almost every single decision not with logic, not with our hearts, not based on our goals or dreams—but with our feelings.”

Robbins uses cognitive research to argue that people act not based on logic but on their feelings. This is why people often procrastinate on things they know are beneficial to them. This also explains why it often takes monumental effort to convince individuals to do even the simplest tasks. Here, Robbins uses repetition for emphasis, repeating “not.”

“Change is simple, not easy.”

This quote embodies the book’s thesis—while change is simply a matter of applying the Rule, this does not make the tasks we have to accomplish any easier. Ultimately, people need to practice everyday courage and develop good habits on a daily basis, and this never feels effortless.

“The moment you accept the fact that we just want to do the things that feel easy, you realize the secret to getting healthy is simple—you’ll never feel like it, you just have to 5- 4- 3- 2- 1-GO!”

Robbins once again reminds readers that acting in the moment is always the first step toward change. In contrast, waiting for an external cue or hesitating only serves to delay the road toward success. People who wish to become healthy need to apply the #5SecondRule and work on taking that first step. Robbins addresses the reader directly to build intimacy and rapport, using “you.”

“The short answer is that the gap between the person you are now and the person you want to become can seem so big that it feels impossible to bridge that gap. Feeling this way is normal, but allowing those feelings to take over your mind is a form of self-abuse.”

This passage argues that Extreme Fear and Anxiety Are a Form of Self-Abuse. Robbins firmly believes everybody has the inner potential to live fulfilling lives and what holds them back is their own mind. Using the #5SecondRule can help them discover their inner courage and make them feel empowered.

“Productivity can be boiled down to one word—FOCUS. There are two types of focus you need to master productivity: First, the ability to manage distractions so that you can focus moment-to-moment on the task at hand, and second, the skill of focusing on what’s truly important to you in the big picture, so you don’t waste your day on stupid stuff.”

Robbins reveals that productivity is comprised both of moment-to-moment acts and long-term goals. One can be productive by being focused on the present without forgetting the big picture. This means getting rid of distractions and frequently taking the time to reassess goals.

“Answering emails, taking phone calls, and sitting in meetings have a way of taking over your schedule and rarely lead to making major improvements in your life.”

Robbins emphasizes the importance of reminding oneself about long-term goals and reflecting about the big picture. People can easily lose themselves in performing simple everyday tasks that ultimately do not contribute to their goals. Taking the time to reassess goals prevents people from falling into the trap of settling for what they have in the moment.

“Procrastination is not a form of laziness at all. It’s a coping mechanism for stress.”

Research in human cognition reveals that people who procrastinate rarely do it out of laziness. Instead, they choose to avoid doing important tasks because it provides them with a brief reprieve from stress. People’s desire to seek immediate gratification can sometimes prevent them from doing important tasks.

“Learning to take control of my mind, direct my thoughts, and dismantle fear has been the single greatest thing I have every done to improve the quality of my life.”

Robbins again explores her belief that letting fear dictate one’s actions is a form of self-abuse. People who are constantly anxious are not living to the fullest extent, and self-empowerment can improve their quality of life. The #5SecondRule increases one’s sense of control, and people are ultimately happier when they believe they are in charge of their actions and thoughts.

“Worrying is a default setting that your mind goes to when you aren’t paying attention. The key is catching yourself when you drift into worry, and then regaining mental control by using the Rule.”

This quote explores another application of the #5SecondRule. When people hesitate, they are ultimately fueling their worries, even when those worries are entirely fabricated. Using the #5SecondRule allows people to disrupt negative thoughts and encourage action.

“Anxiety is what happens when your habit of worrying spirals out of control.”

When people make worrying a habit, they can often become chronically anxious. This is because people worry about things they can’t control, which amplifies their feeling of powerlessness. Allowing the mind to control thoughts in the long run can be detrimental to the ability to be proactive.

“When you have an anchor thought, it allows you to disappear the fear the moment that you notice your mind drift to it.”

Robbins uses “anchor thoughts” to fight anxiety. Anchor thoughts are generally formed by imagining a positive scenario, which Robbins focuses on when she begins to feel anxious. This allows her mind to release fear and prevents escalation toward a panic attack.

“There will always be someone who can’t see your worth. Don’t let it be you.”

Robbins believes everyone is unique and has something to contribute to the world. The only thing holding them back from discovering their inner worth is self-doubt. Using the #5SecondRule can help people conquer this fear and live a fulfilling life. Robbins again uses short, declarative sentences for emphasis.

“A big mistake people make is thinking that confidence is a matter of personality. Confidence just means that you believe in yourself, your ideas, and your capabilities.”

Robbins reminds readers that people are not born confident, even when it seems like it. Rather, confidence is built and practiced by facing fears or accomplishing tasks we do not feel like doing on a daily basis. In other words, appearances can be deceiving: A loud extrovert may not necessarily be more confident in their ideas and capabilities than a quiet introvert.

“What I have come to realize is there is no expiration date on discovering and expressing the power of you.”

Everybody is capable of change, and there is no time limit to discovering this. Robbins reminds readers that there is always time for introspection and that the best time to discover one’s uniqueness is in the present. This means people should follow their dreams and listen to their inner wisdom, no matter where they are in life.