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

In Chapter 2, Robbins recalls her lowest point in life and how this allowed her to invent the #5SecondRule. After graduating from law school, Robbins experimented with different types of work before settling on the media. However, her career failed at the same time her husband’s pizza business fell into debt from expanding too quickly. Robbins, at 41, suddenly found herself unemployed and her family saddled with debt. She became unable to wake up in the morning and took to blaming her husband, Chris, for his mistakes. She would drink too much and barely keep up appearances in front of family and friends. She constantly felt overwhelmed, afraid, and ashamed, which prevented her from acting even on things she knew would improve her overall well-being, such as waking up on time or accepting support from friends.

Robbins spent her days thinking about her problems, which amplified them in her mind. The more she reflected, the more afraid, ashamed, and frozen with anxiety she became. She would go to bed after drinking and hit the snooze button several times in the morning, to the point where her children would often miss the school bus or arrive at school with missing lunches, backpacks, or gym bags. Mornings became a vicious cycle of bad decisions and self-deprecation: Robbins was ashamed, which led to inaction, which then led to even greater shame for her multiple failures. The more this continued, the more Robbins lost hope that her life might get better.

Robbins emphasizes that she knew exactly what she had to do to improve her life. They were very small things, such as waking up on time or making breakfast. However, she noticed that it is often the small things that are incredibly difficult to accomplish. She lists several such daily decisions people often choose to not do: speaking up in a meeting, asking for feedback, hitting “send” on messages, going to the gym, or asking for help. Once she became used to hitting the snooze button in the morning, it became a “habit loop” that was incredibly difficult to change (32). No matter how hard she wished the previous night to act differently in the morning, all it took was five seconds to decide to snooze her alarm the next day.

Everything changed one night when Robbins saw a rocket launch on TV. She heard the final five-second countdown and thought to herself that she would become the rocket and launch herself out of bed the next morning, without allowing herself the time to second-guess her decision. She acted upon this impulse and managed to wake up on time the next day.

What began initially as an instinctual thought allowed Robbins to turn her life around. Robbins believes gut feelings are a type of inner wisdom and that the latest scientific research in cognition seems to back this up. Scientists from the University of Arizona have found that when humans set goals, the prefrontal cortex portion of their brain will fire up signals whenever they are near elements that will help them achieve their goals. For example, if someone wishes to become healthier, their brain will fire up signals whenever they are near gyms. This is what Robbins calls inner wisdom, an impulse or urge guided by instinct to help people achieve their goals.

Accomplishing tasks becomes an exercise in recognizing impulses, trusting them, and then acting upon them. One’s inner wisdom is there to act as a guide, and Robbins argues that acting on instinct is what led to many world-changing discoveries. For example, the Frappuccino was born in 1992 after an assistant manager at a Starbucks in Santa Monica decided to create iced drinks, realizing sales dropped whenever the temperature rose outside. In other words, he followed his instincts, connected the dots, and acted upon his inner wisdom.

Robbins did the same the morning after she saw the rocket launch on TV. Although she woke up at 6:00 a.m. and felt intense dread, she stopped thinking, counted backward from five, and forced her body to move. This is when she discovered the #5SecondRule, which dictates that whenever people feel their inner wisdom guide them to act toward a goal, they must physically move within five seconds or else their brains will stop them.

After her first success waking up on time in the morning, Robbins repeated the exercise of counting backward from five and moving regardless of how she felt. She realized it worked every time. She soon began seeing that all it took was five seconds for her to decide to procrastinate on everything else in life as well. In other words, she was holding herself back “five seconds at a time” (38).

Robbins cites research demonstrating that physically moving forces a change in physiology and that the brain follows this new direction. The #5SecondRule is, in cognitive terms, a “starting ritual” that stimulates the prefrontal cortex and helps change behavior. Like a muscle, the ability to act can be trained: The more people become used to taking simple actions in their daily life, the more this increases their confidence and productivity. Several testimonies from fans support this, Robbins says: The more they used the #5SecondRule, the more in control, free, and reinvigorated they felt (39).

In other words, the more people feel in control of themselves, their lives, or their decisions, the more they are likely to act. This is what psychologist Julian Rotter coined the “‘locus of control’” in 1954. The #5SecondRule, Robbins says, strengthens people’s locus of control and proves to them that they are indeed in control of their life—it helps them operate with a bias toward action. In contrast, Robbins believes motivation is insignificant: Feeling inclination to do something does not prompt action in crucial moments, but physically moving does.

Robbins’s husband, Chris, saw her becoming more and more proactive, and this enticed him to adopt the #5SecondRule as well. He stopped drinking, took up meditation, began exercising, and worked to repay his creditors for his failed business. Although the Rule does not make any of these activities easier, it is a tool that helps make them happen in the first place. Although his business did not end up working out as he dreamed, Chris realized that the experience was an invaluable part of his personal growth; the #5SecondRule gave him the courage to forge on and feel proud of himself instead of wallowing in self-pity or shame.

Robbins first mentioned the #5SecondRule publicly in 2011 at the very end of a TEDx Talk. Unexpectedly, she received overwhelmingly positive feedback and comments from listeners who had adopted the Rule and saw its effectiveness. Robbins then began researching the scientific basis for the Rule, reading up on all aspects of cognition and human behavior. She took note of expert and non-expert opinions, sending out questionnaires to everyday people who had adopted the Rule.

After three years, Robbins concluded that people hesitate when they are faced with doing a difficult or scary task. All it takes is five seconds for fear to take over and make an individual find excuses and remain inactive. Life is overwhelmingly about making small decisions that accumulate to become something big. When people become used to remaining passive and not taking small actions in their daily lives, it becomes hard to break out of the habit. The #5SecondRule is the best tool to use to retake control and become more proactive, Robbins says.

Chapter 4 explains how to effectively use the #5SecondRule to become more proactive in everyday life. It does this by answering several frequently asked questions Robbins received over the years. This chapter’s summary will mirror the original work’s format for ease of reading and to prevent redundancy:

What is the #5SecondRule?

Robbins defines the Rule as a “simple, research-backed metacognition tool that creates immediate and lasting behavior change” (49).

How should people use the Rule?

Whenever people feel the temptation to procrastinate on a task they know must be done, they should count backward from five and force their bodies to move. Counting backward is important because it is a countdown toward an action—counting forward can tempt people to procrastinate further by continuing to count past five. It also serves the purpose of redirecting the mind from hesitation or fear toward the task of counting.

Why is it called the #5SecondRule?

Although, in retrospect, Robbins thought she could have called it something catchier, it was the first thing that came to mind because it was inspired by a rocket launch.

Why does it sound like Nike’s “Just Do It” catchphrase?

The difference between the Rule and “Just Do It” is that the latter tells people what to do, whereas the #5SecondRule shows people how to act. They are similar in that both acknowledge that people everywhere hesitate when faced with difficult or uncertain decisions; both ask people to stop thinking and act.

Is the Rule for everyone?

Robbins believes that, in principle, it should work for everyone. However, people might have a slightly different time window. Some shorten the Rule to three seconds because they notice they hesitate the more they wait, whereas others lengthen it a little to have the time to deal with their intense initial anxiety. Robbins warns that generally, the longer the wait, the more likely hesitation will overwhelm people and prevent action.

What can people use the Rule for?

The main purpose of the Rule is to change behavior: It helps people create new habits and get rid of bad ones by encouraging them to act with everyday courage and by training them to control their own thoughts. When applied correctly, the Rule helps people remove negative thoughts and alleviate anxiety.

Why does something so simple work?

Research in human psychology proves that the mind has certain biases that stop people from enacting change and breaking habits. The Rule works because it is simple and challenges these neurological processes by enticing the body to move.

How can one rule work on so many areas of my life?

It works in all aspects of an individual’s life because it fundamentally forces the individual to work on themselves. It defeats hesitation by inhibiting the urge to think and second-guess. In other words, every time people hesitate, it is an opportunity to use the #5SecondRule to turn hesitation into a “push” moment (56).

Can the Rule create lasting behavior change?

Over time, if people continue using the Rule, it will help beat the vicious cycle of doubting, hesitating, and inaction altogether. The Rule can challenge people’s ingrained habits of inaction by becoming their new habit.