In Five Seconds Your Opportunities Will Self-Destruct…

Have you ever had an idea to do something, to take some action, to jump on an opportunity, only to find yourself hesitating, not stepping up, and watching the opportunity pass you by? We all do it, and it’s one of the primary ways we cheat ourselves out of getting the things we really want.

The problem happens when we wait more than 5 seconds to take action …

I recently watched a TED talk with Mel Robbins. Mel is a radio personality, columnist for Success Magazine, and star of the A&E TV show, “The In-Laws.” Her 21 minute talk is about how people more or less get in their own ways when it comes to figuring out and getting what they really want. You can watch her speech here:

I enjoyed her talk, so I went out and got her book, “Stop Saying You’re Fine.”

There were several good ideas in both her talk and her book. The one I want to focus on now is the “5 second rule.” She talks about it at the end of her Ted Talk (at abut the 17:45 mark), and also mentions it in her book.

From her book (page 30):

When I first heard this idea, I instantly thought of it in terms of saying “Yes, And,” vs. saying, “yes, but.”

The longer you wait to say, “Yes, And!” the more time you give for your thoughts and feelings to convince you to say, “yes, but” instead. 

After even just a few seconds, your drive and impulse to say, “Yes, And!” will be gone and you’ll be left with the far more disempowering, “yes, but.”

Let’s take a page from Mel Robbins’ book and create a five-second “Yes, And!” rule. When you are faced with an idea, opportunity, offer, or question, regardless of whether it comes from someone else or from inside you, say, “Yes, And!” within five seconds and then take a small action on it, before you mind has a chance to start in with the “yes, buts.”

If it helps, imagine an ominous voice saying, “In five seconds, this opportunity will self-destruct.” Then picture a timer counting down those five critical seconds. Take action before the counter reaches zero!

Will it be difficult? Probably.

Will it make a huge difference in your results? Almost definitely.

As Mel says in her book, “To grow, you have to do the stuff that feels hard right now, not later.”

Saying “Yes, And!” is hard but it’s how you grow, and it’s how you get what you want. Give it a try and see what happens…

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Interested in learning more about the idea of saying, “Yes, And!” instead of “yes, but”? Then be sure to check out my new book, Say “Yes, And!” coming out this January! You can read more about it here: New Book: Say “Yes, And!”