In Wikipidea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-second_rule ) the ‘5 second rule’ is said to be:
‘A common superstition that states that food dropped on the ground will not be contaminated with bacteria if it is picked up within 5 seconds of being dropped. Some may earnestly believe this assertion, whereas other people employ the rule as a polite social fiction that will allow them to still eat a lightly-contaminated piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers.’
However, it is not this ‘5 second rule’ I want to talk about.
In Success.com (July 2012 http://tinyurl.com/c7rcxo5) Mel Robbins said the ‘5 second rule’ is a crucial trick for outsmarting your brain.
The important message is that we are wired to avoid change. Our brain wants to protect our physical integrity, so in order to avoid risk it does everything in its power to keep us away from the unknown.
So the ‘5 second rule’ says if we don’t take action within 5 seconds of having an idea you will abandon it.
This is why most people end up not fulfilling their dreams or pursuing their ideas.
They get in their own way because their brain prevents them from taking action and breaking a comfortable pattern for which results are known.
When our ancestors were living in caves this system served them well, but in today’s world success and happiness cannot usually be achieved without risk and most certainly without acting upon our ideas.
Have you ever looked around you and thought that everything you see that is man-made started as an idea? And that most of them, before they were a success, were made fun of and met innumerous set-backs?
Have you ever stopped to think what your life would be like if you had acted upon some of the ideas that have gone through your head?
Obviously not all ideas that seem good to start with will be feasible, but you will never know until you study it and test it.
So I challenge you: Next time you have an idea that resonates with you, take the first step within 5 seconds.
You see, the week has got 7 days and ‘Some Day’ is not one of them.
When you hear yourself think ‘later’ when you are dreaming about having your own business, or even if this happens when you have an unpleasant task to do at work, when you are looking at a pile of dirty dishes or when you are thinking about inviting someone to go out for diner, breathe in, say NOW and take the first small step!
If you put your ideas on paper, make a plan and commit to take a step every day you will have the life and success you deserve!
