Mel Robbins' straight-forward, no fuss insight first caught my eye a few years ago. Her books Take Control of Your Life and The 5 Second Rule were good reads, each with a unique look at personal and professional growth strategies. I followed her posts, encouraging words and no-nonsense videos, screenshotting and saving many that resonated with me. I watched her massively successful TedX Talk, How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over several times.
What I like about Mel is that she’s candid. She shares the good, the bad and the ugly. She shares her successes and congratulates herself. Her Acknowledgements in The High 5 Habit begin: First, I acknowledge myself. Yes, Mel Robbins, you deserve a huge round of applause. This book took 3 years, 2 publishers, 13 gigabytes of memory, 21 gallons of Phish Food ice cream, 7 boxes of tissues and a handfuls of Advil PM. She continues on with more high 5’s for herself. Heck, yeah!
Mel discusses how often she’s made mistakes on her journey, driving home the fact that you’re never fully prepared, just go for it and learn from your experiences. Watch her explain what she was feeling during that TedX Talk, her first major public speaking experience, and her last-minute, slightly adlibbed 5 second rule that looked like an afterthought (it was).
Last fall Mel started promoting her upcoming release, The High 5 Habit. I followed her more closely and preordered the audio book. September 2021 The High 5 Habit was released, and I listened to it immediately, and then read the hardcopy. There were so many stories and insights that resonated with me. As I listened to her narrate, I did a whole lotta head-nodding, thinking to myself, Yes! This makes total sense! Then there were several whammies that got me thinking Awww Yeahhh! (I’ve replaced “ah-ha moment” with a sentiment more emphatic – so say it like you mean it!)
The book’s philosophy is that the act of giving yourself a high 5 in the mirror every morning is a simple yet profound tool, a holistic approach to life that changes your attitude, mindset and behavior. And to back that up, Mel dives into the science behind it and how you can make this small change a part of an overall shift in your life.
The science behind high 5-ing yourself wasn’t what gave me the biggest Awww Yeahhh! moments. Chapters 12 through 15 were the reason I bought the hardback and a new yellow highlighter. The insight, emotion and real connection to Mel’s story and MY story truly has changed how I approach growing my business.
Manifestation has guided me for many years. It started as a way to be aware that all the work I was doing, all that I was learning, all of the wide-ranging experiences and interactions, well, they all add up to who I am today.
Manifestation helped me to have an acute awareness of my journey: the successes, the flops and everything in between. Never be deterred by a flop. And please don’t use the word ‘failure’ in anything that you try and don’t achieve what you hoped. You tried it and it didn’t work. Learn from it, move on and be proud of yourself for trying. (Seriously, there are so many people who don’t even try.)
Back to The High 5 Habit and Mel’s manifestation insight. I thought I had this manifesting thing all figured out (I visualize my company’s growth and, most importantly, my lake house – wherever it may be! – every day). But what had I been missing this whole time? Visualizing the WORK.
Chapter 14, page 195, Manifesting Done Right, was a game changer.
Most people get manifesting wrong because they try to visualize and conjure the end result: winning the ski race or the Oscar, losing 50 pounds or having a million dollars in the bank. Manifesting done wrong can keep you stuck, because while big dreams are amazing, and you need to have them, manifesting the end result will NOT help you achieve them. Research out of UCLA shows us that in order to make visualization really help you achieve your goals, you need to visualize yourself doing the hard, annoying, small steps along the way to reaching your dreams.
If your dream is to run a business that brings in six figures a month, don’t visualize the money hitting your bank account. Visualize what it feels like to be writing a blog post, exhausted, at midnight, after the kids are asleep. Close your eyes and feel, with every fiber of your being, hanging up the phone after being told NO on yet another sales call. Then see yourself pick up the phone and dial the next number.
Giving yourself a high 5 in the mirror each morning can be more powerful than you may think. Cheer yourself on, encourage yourself and encourage others. Remember that each day you are doing the work that will lead you to where you want to go. Every day’s work is the journey. And know that I’M also high-5ing you.
Bonus video from Mel Robbins: The Most Powerful Visualization Technique to Manifest Anything You Want in Life
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