Mel Robbins is one of my favorite authors. I interviewed her in 2021 for Fast Company about creating a high-five habit, giving yourself a high five each morning, and becoming your own cheerleader. She told me, “Look for what’s going right in your life and leverage small wins to create momentum and resilience.” 

While preparing for the interview, I watched Mel’s TEDx Talk, which has been viewed more than 32 million times—WOW! In it, she shares her five-second rule. She says most of us wait until we feel like doing something, but feelings screw us over because we will never feel like it. What you need to do instead is to get outside your comfort zone. 

The mind moves quickly, she explains. “If you have one of those little impulses that are pulling you, if you don’t marry it with an action within five seconds, you pull the emergency brake and kill the idea. Kill it! If you have the impulse to get up and come dance while the band is playing, if you don’t stand up in five seconds, you’re going to pull the emergency brake.” 

The five-second rule can be your secret weapon to putting more WOW! Moments into your life. I used it when I spontaneously grabbed a poster board and Sharpie while heading to a Cheap Trick concert. The band is from my hometown. I had this impulse to let them know we had that in common by creating a sign that said, “I’m from Rockford.” I held up the sign for several songs, feeling awkward but determined. Then this happened.

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If I had given more thought to the idea, I would have dismissed it as silly. Instead, it created one of my favorite WOW! Moments. It also helped that I had a wow accountability partner. We’ll talk about the importance of your circle of support a future post.

Creating a WOW! means getting out of your head. The next time you have an impulse to do something fun, unique, and out of character for your daily life, don’t wait until you feel like it … do it!