1-Sentence-Summary: The High 5 Habit is a self-improvement book that aims to help anyone who deals with self-limitations take charge of their life by establishing a morning routine, ditching negative talk, and transforming their life through positivity and confidence.
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Do you ever feel like you’ve lost a sense of purpose or cannot figure out what you want and go for it? Are you waking up feeling tired, as if you already know how your day will play out and not wanting to get out of bed? If you stopped feeling motivated and you catch yourself in a lousy mood way too often, hang on cause The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins has got a few tips-and-tricks for you!
Most often than not, the encouragement from friends or self-help books won’t do it. Either they’re too complicated or too shallow. However, not this book. Why? Because it has only one piece of advice: follow the High 5 Habit. Although simple, this new approach to the way of living will be one of the most significant changes you’ve ever made in your life. Ready to hear more about it?
Let’s explore my three favorite lessons from the book:
- First, high-five yourself in the mirror starting tomorrow morning.
- Negative self-talk creates a chain of negative behaviors.
- Your mind filter is called the Reticular Activating System, and you should clean it thoroughly.
If these lessons seem a bit difficult to understand at first glance, don’t worry, as we’ll explore them one by one. Here we go!
The High 5 Habit Summary
Lesson 1: Make it a morning habit to high-five yourself in the mirror
Wait, what? A high-five with myself in the mirror? Well, that’s precisely what the author suggests, and to be honest with you, so far, it worked wonders for me too! Although it sounds stupid, this tiny piece of advice can change your entire day for the better. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some scientific facts that support this idea.
High-five are most commonly used to celebrate small or big victories in life, from childhood to maturity. Everybody has a good memory of the high-five. But, according to research in neurobiotics, high-fives in uncommon situations, such as after brushing your teeth, can make your brain form new neural connections more easily.
Combining this sign of victory with an uncommon occurrence makes your brain pay attention to the situation and remember it as a positive event throughout the day. Does it make sense? I hope so! Therefore, I highly encourage you to try it out for yourself. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up and brush your teeth, take a look in the mirror, and instead of picking at your insecurities, high-five your reflection in the mirror. Repeat it every morning from now on!
Lesson 2: Being negative affects your behavior more than you think
You’ve probably heard this a million times but stop thinking negatively, as it can seriously affect the quality of your life. Self-destructive behaviors can look at life performance anxiety, overwhelming feelings, anxiety, frustration, and many more.
For example, if you feel as if you’re going to fail a task before you even begin working on it, that can seriously impact the outcome of that activity. The author herself even missed two excellent career opportunities due to her fear of failure. So what’s there to do? If you feel as if you’re deep into the negative talk behavior and it already affects your life significantly, you can try therapy.
However, if you find yourself inclined to see the negative in a situation or get frustrated quickly, work on yourself and train your mind to become more optimistic. For example, instead of saying that you can’t do something or that someone is hard to work with, try saying that you’ll succeed at that task and that your colleagues may need your help to make work easier for them.
Lesson 3: Free your mind of negativity and frustration to leave room for positivity and growth
Your mind has a filter, much like a machine, called the Reticular Activating System, or the RAS. This system aims to filter the information you constantly receive so that only the relevant bits reach your conscious mind. However, sometimes this filter doesn’t function at its optimal parameters, which requires a deep cleaning.
To make sure that genuinely relevant information reaches your consciousness, instead of negative flows of data which in turn affect your behavior, you’ll have to do a few things. First, you’ll have to put optimism in front of pessimism in your mind so that your brain thinks that’s what’s important to you. To do so, you must embrace and choose self-acceptance and love above all other things.
Secondly, you’ll have to look for them. Look for the good side of things, or see the glass half-full. This will train your brain to look for this type of information and filter stuff in a way that shows you the good side of things. You know the saying: “Ask, and you shall receive”, so start applying it to your life as well!
The High 5 Habit Review
The High 5 Habit explores the simple yet effective habit of high-fiving yourself in the mirror every morning to kickstart your day with a bit of boost. This life tip changed how Robbins started her day and went on with it while significantly improving her confidence levels. Therefore, she decided to let the whole world know that this simple trick, followed by a positive mentality and constantly looking for the half-full side of the glass, can turn anyone’s life around right away.
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Who would I recommend The High 5 Habit summary to?
The 24-year-old person struggling with self-esteem, the 30-year-old person who feels stuck in a rut and wants to become more motivated and confident, or the 35-year-old person going through a life-changing situation, such as a weight-loss journey, and needs to stay motivated.
Last Updated on May 19, 2023
