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Stop Being FINE!
Many of you may not know this about me but I am a HUGE fan of information! I read and gather and curate information ALL - THE- TIME! I also follow TED talks which are expert speakers on various topics from around the world. Years ago I found Mel Robbins in one of her Ted Talks. Mel is a motivational speaker, author, lawyer, wife, and mom. She spoke about her first book Stop Saying You're Fine. You can watch her Ted talk HERE
Mel talks about how and why we use the word FINE. We all do it. We all say it; "How are you - I AM FINE" It has become such a big part of our language that we do not even realize how much we say it and what it actually means. Are we saying we are FINE so as to not burden the asker with how we really feel? OR are we truly just FINE? Are we trying to convince ourselves that if we say it enough we will believe it? Maybe we are really so fantastic that we do not want to make the asker feel bad about their own circumstances so we say we are just FINE. We don't want to brag about how well our life is going so we say everything is FINE. The problem with the word FINE is we convince ourselves that we are FINE in every area of our life - regardless if it is true. How many times have you said you are FINE as a cop-out. We AVOID how we are really feeling by saying it and actually convincing ourselves that everything is FINE!
So instead of being just FINE - start taking action to make improvements in the areas of your life that you are struggling with. How often do you find yourself with an idea or impulse to do something but then hesitate? This can be with your personal life or your business life. Things like:
joining a fitness class you know you want to join
calling the client you know will be a good contact
making DR appointment you have been avoiding
speaking in a meeting when you know a thoughtful idea
Becoming a better parent, spouse, child
stopping procrastination
Whenever you get an impulse to do something, you have 5-seconds to make it happen or the impulse is gone. If you don't act in 5-seconds, your brain will cause you to hesitant and make excuses for you NOT to do it. You need to do something to start the ball rolling - It can be a small physical movement toward completing the action (writing a post it to yourself, adding it to your calendar, sending an email, or counting backwards 5-4-3-2-1) to "activate" the action. This is what Mel Robbins calls the 5-seconds Rule. Using the countdown 5-4-3-2-1 to activate the action and move you forward. When you get the impulse, do the countdown then act. THAT'S IT! - VERY SIMPLE but not easy to do! When you get an impulse, an idea, or a notion to do something use the 5-second rule to help you activate it and put the action into motion. This can be used to:
PUSH you towards doing an action (join a gym, take a fitness class, call a client, pay a bill, etc..)
PULL you from an action (stop you from smoking or drinking, pull you away from junk food, stop you from watching tv instead of working, procrastination, etc.)
You can check out Mel Robbin's THE 5-SECOND TRICK here Tomorrow in Part 2, I will introduce you to The Tale of Two Clients how you can use the 5-second rule to improve your health and how the word FINE has had a major impact on health and wellness.