Hi 5K!

(I wish I could say: I have 5K followers! so, please subscribe and share!)

A few days ago on the 5th of November, I ran my first 5K (Hurray!) I have to admit I’m quite proud of myself because for once, I trained patiently with a running app (C25K: From Couch to 5 Km) and never went overboard thinking I’m invincible, I can do more — which would be my style: after all, running thirty minutes is peanuts, right? Except that naturally, I’m more of a sprinter, starting full-on and stopping dead, coughing up my lungs and holding my stomach a few hundred yards later. So my goal was to change my habits and work on my weak point, endurance. Plus, the idea was to get there injury-free and enjoy every run of the trip! I’m definitely on for the 10K next. 

The reason I’m mentioning this date is because I seem to be surrounded by the number five. A month ago, as I started my adventure into the podcasts on wellness, personal development and health, I came across a conversation with the hugely famous inspirational speaker, Mel Robbins. I had no idea who she was and until then I hadn’t been convinced with any ‘positive thinking’ material I fell upon — mainly, I was skeptical about the whole thing (at least for me). But the podcast was enlightening: Mel Robbins tells her incredible life-story full of hilarious adventures, not-less hilarious missteps and failures, and so with such energy and drive — I was bought immediately. Not only she’s witty, amusing, sensitive (actually over-sensitive), but she’s completely honest about everything that happened to her and decided to be of service to others.  

To get back to the number 5, Robbins’ work as a motivational speaker was first noticed with The 5 Second Rule, a technique that was backed by scientific research since. It consists in counting backward 5-4-3-2-1 and use these 5 seconds to initiate a move – which may well change our lives significantly. Robbins says “If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it.” In other words, follow your heart (and your guts) before your brain gets in the way. It may sound counter-intuitive in a culture where we encourage taking a deep breath and count to ten before acting in a rush, but the 5 seconds method has been highly effective and her TEDx talk has been viewed over 20 millions times! Apparently, the only cases where the technique fails (and yet, it isn’t the technique failing but rather the user) is when the person doesn’t want to change or move…

Similarly, Robbins talks about her High-5 method: a simple High-5 to ourselves in the mirror, before or after our teeth routine. The idea is simple and comes from the observation that we likely motivate others by waving at them with a big smile, yet we don’t encourage ourselves. It’s so simple, it’s almost ridiculous, says Robbins, but worth trying. So this is what I’ve been doing for the last month first thing in the morning. Surprisingly, not only it’s fun, but it brings a big smile to my face every time. I cannot explain this enthusiasm nor the mischievous gaze that seems to say “Hey don’t be so serious, life is also fun” — but what do I have to lose? 

Love, Ethel

++ Listen to the conversation between Rich Roll and Mel Robbins click here
++ Visit my website for more art works