High-Five!

Give yourself a high-five.

Seriously. Do it. Right now. Walk to a mirror, raise your arm, and high five your reflection. I’ll wait.

Did you do it?

How do you feel?

Did you smile? Or giggle a little as you did it?

Did you make eye contact with yourself? Did you question the purpose of this exercise?

Tyler and I have been giving ourselves high fives every morning for a little over a month. Not each other – ourselves. Our reflections.

Why?

Because we deserve a high-five. We don’t need to achieve a major physical accomplishment like winning a triathlon. Nor do we need to score the winning goal of the Stanley Cup Finals. We deserve a high five because we are alive. We woke up, met our reflection in the mirror, and like seeing an old friend, we high five. We deserve to greet ourselves with excitement, with joy, and with appreciation.

And so do you.

We haven’t completely lost our minds to the isolation of the pandemic. And this wasn’t our idea either.

Mel Robbins, a kick-ass woman and author of The High-Five Habit, convinced us that this one simple act every day can change the way we think. Rather than reverting to the usual morning beat down in the mirror, we are learning to treat ourselves with kindness, something we all deserve.

I’ve heard many thought leaders and motivational speakers talk about changing your mindset and reframing your negative thoughts. It’s usually the first piece of advice any motivational speaker has: Change your mindset, change your life. Well that’s great and all, but their tips for doing so never work. Basically, their advice is to just stop thinking negative thoughts.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a negative thought loop running through my head since childhood. We are talking decades of a negative thinking habit. And these thought leaders just expect you to stop? Or to catch yourself in the act and say, “Oh, right. Let’s reframe that thought!”

Newsflash: IT DOESN’T WORK!

And then, the whole “reframing your thoughts” bit becomes another item I can beat myself up over:

“You stupid clod! You can’t even remember to think a positive thing about yourself!”

It’s counterproductive, really.

But then I was introduced to Mel.

Oh, Mel.

She quickly became a household name. Not because her name is short and easy to remember, but because her advice and strategies are so freaking simple. Mel recognizes that humans will find every excuse in the book to not make change. She understands how the brain works, and she has figured out a workaround. Interestingly enough, she figured out a workaround first, then she discovered the research to back up her ideas.

A personal growth guru who loves research as much as I do? Yes, please!

Mel helps you to lay the groundwork with simple strategies before she comes in with the more complex strategies to help you break the harder negative behaviors that are holding you back. By doing so, those more complex strategies become easier to manage.

And it all starts with a high-five.

We can all use a little pick-me-up after these last few years. Whether you are striving for improvement or happy with where you are, celebrating you – and just you, not your accomplishments – you are becoming your biggest fan. We could all use one of those.

So tomorrow morning, after brushing your teeth, connect with that reflection in the mirror and give yourself a high five.

And then come back here to read my journey with the woman in the mirror.

For more information about the High-Five Habit, visit MelRobbins.com. Or, pick up Mel’s book on Amazon.

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?? What was it like to give yourself a high-five? ??

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