The 5 Second Rule for Activating Change In Your Life
07-03-2017
There’s no doubt about it – change is hard. And it isn’t hard because we don’t know what to do to achieve our goals. If we want to be healthier, we know this means being more active, making better choices in our diet, and giving up sedentary and unhealthy habits. If we want to spend more meaningful time with family, we know this means having “no-screen” time and planning out things we can do with our loved ones to build stronger connections and memories. But even with this knowledge of what to do, actually making change – or at least, making a change that lasts – is something that many of us struggle with. But why is this the case?
In this video, speaker Mel Robbins shares with us the neuroscience of change, why making change is a challenge for most, and simple tips for making change successfully. Watch the video, then read below for some of the key takeaways from this talk.
As I watched this speech, there were some definite “ah-ha!” moments that I’d like to share with you here. As you review, consider the questions asked and how you can use this information to build up your capacity for success in making change happen.
- There are three obstacles that we all face when attempting to make a change. Our brains, our success, and our fear. This video really focuses on the brain and what we can do to combat this barrier; however, success and fear are also important to keep in mind. How has your own success contributed to a lack of willingness to change? How can you push the fear of the unknown away so that you are able to take the risk of making a change?
- As Mel explains in this video, we used to believe that our brains stopped growing in our mid-twenties. We now know that our brains are actually always growing, which is good news for those of us seeking to make a change for the better in our lives. Because of the concept of neuro-plasticity, all of us have the power to embed new behaviors and routines into the pathways of our minds. This doesn’t come easily and requires active attention to making the change, but with repetition and dedication, we can slowly start moving change from an active process to something that our brains do while working on auto-pilot.
- Before every new behavior we engage in, every move from stasis, our minds and bodies require energy to push us through the moment of hesitation. This applies when we get out of bed each day, when we stop ourselves from grabbing an unhealthy but loved snack, and when we actively engage in our new choice. This means that change IS hard – it requires us to commit to providing ourselves the energy to push through these moments without doing what comes more naturally.
- We only do anything three reasons: We are paid to do it, we have to do it, or we are deeply committed to the action. Although she doesn’t dive into these concepts too deeply, we can further extrapolate some additional ideas for making change. For every new change or routine you are attempting, consider how you can use these facts to help you: How can you build incentives for yourself for engaging in the new behavior? Who will hold you accountable for the change? How can you remind yourself of the benefits of making the change, thereby building your passion for maintaining it?
- Finally, Mel provides a simple exercise that can help us through the moment of hesitation – the 5 second rule. This is the window of time where we are most open to making steps towards change once we’ve made a decision to do so. How can we use this window to actually embed change though? Mel suggests writing down an idea, connecting with another person, or doing something that requires a bit of physical or mental effort that can keep us attuned to the motivator we have to change, to just do it. By doing this, we are leaving an impression on our brain – creating the first image of what change may look like, and give our brains an outline to follow that we can continue to fill with additional actions.
Be Patient: Learning to Wait For Perspective in Life
06-25-2017
As a counselor, one of the things I deal with daily is working with people who are experiencing negative life events, crisis, grief, or any other thing that is causing them emotional discomfort and pain. These events can be extremely traumatic – dealing with loss, death, divorce, long-buried trauma. As a counselor, my role is to help people understand, reframe, and cope with these feelings. When I found this video, I felt like it wasn’t just an inspirational story – it really described the frame of mind that is most helpful for those who show enormous resilience in the face of adversity and strength when times aren’t going as well as they might like. Take a look below:
The lesson of this video, which I think is beautifully put, is this: It doesn’t benefit us to place judgement on any situation we experience by naming something as “good” or “bad.” Does that mean we shouldn’t have feelings about the things we experience? Absolutely not! When something painful occurs in your life, it’s normal to feel grief, sadness, and anger. When something positive happens, we should feel joy, pride, and relief.
But when we start naming these events as “good” or “bad,” when we place a fundamental value of the event within the trajectory of our life, we start internalizing. Instead of things that happen to us, these events become part of the story of who we are. And when we feel like many “bad” things are happening, it can be easy to start turning the blame for that onto ourselves or the people around us, instead of recognizing these as simply things we are living through.
That’s the power of “maybe” – having the wisdom to know that the tides of life are ever-changing, that the things that happen to us are just that – passing moments. Without the ability to predict how an event might actually shape the course of our life, how can we assign value to it? Everything we experience, both positive and painful, sends us down a journey that we cannot know. Peace is understanding that we will not understand our path until we complete it, and being open to the twists and turns as they appear before us.
As you reflect on this video and article, I encourage you to think about and journal on the following:
- What would you say were the best and worst moments of your life? Why do you feel this way?
- From these moments, how did the path of your life change?
- What lessons did these moments teach you?
- Were there “bad” moments that ended up changing your life for the better? Were there “good” moments that had unforeseen consequences?
- How can you hold yourself accountable to sticking with “maybe” in your moments moving forward? How would this benefit you and your loved ones?
As a final exercise, journal for a few days on your initial reactions to events in your life. Note how often you are placing a value judgement on these events. Once you’re done, reflect on this list and consider what impact placing value had on your mood and attitude the remaining part of the day. Then, for a few more days, do the same journaling, but force yourself to stay in the “maybe” mind frame. How does this change your mood and attitude? See what works for you in maintaining this approach versus assigning judgement in the long-term.
Orly Katz, LCPC at Everyday Counseling and Coaching Services
06-18-2017
Happy Father’s Day from me to you! As I was reflecting on this day and considering the special role of fathers in children’s lives, I found myself circling back to the idea of the gifts fathers impart. No matter who served the father role for us, whether that was a biological parent, a step-parent, or other friend or family member, I think we all know the moments of most importance from childhood: The ones in which that person, our father, took the time to make us feel loved, to teach us a skill or lesson that we still carry with us, or to ensure we had the self-confidence to march proudly through life.
When I work with fathers, I sometimes hear this discomfort about their role – with all of the pressures and stress of life, it can be easy to feel guilty or worry that we’re not spending enough of our time or giving enough to our children. That’s why I love this video – what a simple but impactful way to spend a few minutes with a child and give them a solid foundation of values and self-esteem without hardly any investment. Take a look below:
06-18-2017
I’ve written on the power of affirmations before and the ways in which we can use them as adults to boost our own feelings of self-worth and confidence. But what an amazing tool – to use affirmations as a bonding experience between father and child, to instill confidence, to teach values. I love this video because it illustrates how the simple presence of a father, or either parent, spent in ways that builds children up, not only benefits them, but allows us to feel a more complete connection to our role as parent.
To those reading this who are parents, or are planning on becoming parents, consider the following:
- Who was your own father figure? What sort of impacts did they have on your life?
- What lessons from your father do you wish to instill with your own children?
- What are the times you feel the strongest connection with your children? How often do you make this activity part of your routine with your children?
- What are the values you feel are most important to pass along to your children? How have or will you work to embed these in your children?
By thinking about the role of the father and how you fill it, it becomes much easier to feel confident in successfully parenting children (and reducing relationship tension with a partner along the way). I hope that you have had a wonderful Father’s day, and know that your role as a father, while it may seem intimidating, is one that leaves immeasurable impacts on your child for years to come and a layer of self-fulfillment that is unknowable until you’ve achieved this.
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