The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage

Robbins defines anxiety as a mental state characterized by out-of-control worry. To beat anxiety, people must first understand what it is, catch it before it escalates, reframe it, and then stabilize their thoughts. By applying the #5SecondRule, anxiety will gradually recede to being simply worrying.

Robbins believes she was born anxious. She worried excessively compared to her peers when she was younger and began having panic attacks in law school. There is an important difference between normal panicking and a panic attack. When people experience danger, their bodies react by releasing adrenaline and cortisol. They begin to sweat, and their hearts race. At the same time, the mind races to understand bodily cues, and if it is given a good reason to believe the danger has passed, physical reactions will not escalate any further and the body will begin to calm. A panic attack happens when the brain cannot find the source of panic and judges that there must be real life-threatening danger. It continues to escalate the anxiety response, to the point where the individual might have difficulty breathing or even dart around the room.

Robbins tried speaking to several therapists and using cognitive techniques to stop her panicking. However, they only made her fear her panic attacks even more, which worsened the situation and forced her to turn to medication. Zoloft worked wonders for her for almost 20 years. However, when her children began to show signs of deep anxiety as well, which could not be cured with therapy, Robbins turned to research in an attempt to fight against anxiety.

Robbins first learned that attempting to calm the mind when it is in an anxious state does not work. Instead, she uses the #5SecondRule to control her thoughts and reframe the anxiety into excitement. She dubs this technique the “reframing strategy” (175).

Studies show that physiologically, excitement and anxiety manifest exactly the same way. It is only the mind that labels them differently. Although Robbins has been a public speaker for over six years—she was even the most booked female speaker in America in 2016—she still feels the same physiological symptoms before every performance: Her palms and armpits sweat, her face burns, her heart races, and her body seeks to act. Rather than think of this as anxiety, Robbins has reframed this jittery feeling as excitement. In scientific terms, this is called “anxiety reappraisal.” A research study by Harvard Business School professor Alison Wood Brooks has found that it works with improving performance.

This method reframes the mind and prevents a mental escalation toward a panic attack. It does not actually reduce bodily reactions. Nevertheless, mental reframing is the most crucial step toward reclaiming the mind and focusing on positivity.

Robbins explains how she beat her fear of flying using the Rule and a technique for anxiety reappraisal she calls “anchor thoughts.” She encourages readers to try this method while providing many anecdotes of people who have succeeded.

Prior to boarding a plane, Robbins will decide on an “anchor thought” that will help settle her fear. Generally, the anchor thought is a happy mental image of what Robbins will enjoy once she arrives at her destination. This could be climbing on top of a mountain or seeing her children run out to greet her on the front porch. Having an anchor is akin to having a “plan B.” When the first plan of not panicking fails, people can easily fall back on their anchor thought.

Once on the plane, Robbins pays attention to her feelings. If she realizes that her fears are triggered by external factors—such as turbulence or the weather—she will quickly start counting back from five to reset her thought pattern and pull herself back into the present. She will then concentrate on her anchoring thought, imagining herself happily settled at the end of the trip. These anchoring images help provide context to her mind so her fear does not escalate into a panic attack—her brain will reason that if she is happy with her children, then the plane did not crash and what she feels is not anxiety but excitement.

By repeating this process over and over, Robbins found that it became easier and easier to conquer her fear, until she finally managed to train her brain to default to the positive. She is no longer nervous on planes, and when there is occasional turbulence, she always has the #5SecondRule to help her calm back down. Others have had similar experiences applying the Rule and realized how much their fear was robbing them of the simple joys of life. Robbins reminds readers that mastering their minds will open doors to many new possibilities.