BOSTON—Ten years ago, Mel Robbins says her life was a mess until she stumbled on what she calls the five-second rule.
In a healthcare industry where burnout is rampant, it could also be an answer for doctors and other clinicians struggling with anxiety and other mental health issues. Robbins said she was unemployed, her husband’s restaurant business was near bankruptcy, her marriage was crumbling and she was doing too much drinking. She didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning.
Then one night she was watching TV and saw a space rocket being launched. The next morning, she did her own countdown: 5-4-3-2-1 and she launched herself out of bed.
“I had no idea how it worked,” Robbins told the audience at the Medical Group Management Association’s annual conference in Boston on Monday.
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But the author of “The 5 Second Rule,” social media influencer and one of the most-booked motivational speakers said the simple countdown is the secret to change, to confidence and courage.
“The moment you begin to hesitate, count 5-4-3-2-1 and move before your mind stops you,” she told audience members.
5 seconds is how you change everything. In 5 seconds you can change anything. Change by doing the little things - the power is in you. Thank you, Mel Robbins! @melrobbins @MGMA #MGMA18ANNUAL pic.twitter.com/39BAxJd3Qi
— Andi Erben (@AndiErben) October 1, 2018
The five-second rule helps interrupt the patterns that keep people from taking action, Robbins said. It can help people overcome their procrastination, as well as their fear and anxiety.
That’s good news in an industry where physician burnout has grabbed headlines. While the focus is often on physicians, research shows its effects extend to all clinicians and even up to the C-suite.
Robbins said she gets lots of feedback from people who have heard her speak or read her books. That includes at least 69 people who told her that her technique had helped keep them from suicide, she says.