We’re always looking for new ways to help people boost their confidence and achieve their goals. And we think we’ve found one. It’s known as the high 5 habit, an idea created by life coach, motivational speaker and best-selling author Mel Robbins.
At its core, the high 5 habit is about becoming your own source of encouragement, your own daily cheerleader. And Robbins wrote a book on the subject.
Here is how it works
You wake up in the morning. Make your bed. Go into the bathroom. As you face yourself in the mirror, you give your reflection a high five. You can touch the mirror or not. It doesn’t matter, according to Robbins. The important thing is that you do it.
Like Robbins explains, “I know it’s a bit goofy, but it works. Just as people high five each other on sports team to celebrate a win, you too can celebrate your life by giving yourself a high five every morning.”
It’s a good way to begin the day, every single day. As you encourage yourself to succeed with each high five, you will improve the relationship you have with yourself and the world.
The science behind it
Although even Robbins admits that doing a high five may seem stupid and silly, there’s scientific evidence to back up the fact that it works. UC Berkeley researchers studied the effect that the number of high fives that NBA basketball players gave each other at the start of the season would have on their teams’ results. And they found that the teams whose members gave the most high fives to each other had the most winning season.
Why it works
Giving yourself a high five every morning can make you too a winner. Because a high five has positive connotations, your brain begins to associate that positivity with your own self-image.
And, as Robbins writes in her book, ‘Your subconscious is programmed to associate celebration, belief and possibility with a high five. So, when you raise your hand to your own reflection, your subconscious says, I am someone who is worth celebrating, believing in, and I can make anything happen.’”
By doing high fives you’re celebrating yourself – celebrating yourself just as you are – and training your brain to replace self-doubt and self-criticism with self-acceptance and self-love.
Rather than looking in the mirror and seeing all the things that bother you, you can look in the mirror and cheer for your accomplishments. Doing so gives you the ability to succeed in your job search and your life.
Robbins also writes that, “Just as a teammate would support you in the biggest play of your life, you can support yourself with a daily high five that says, ‘You can handle this. I know you can.’”
A small habit with a big impact
She believes that the most powerful forces in the world are encouragement, celebration and love. And by making doing a high five a daily habit you can activate these forces to improve your life.
In addition, she also believes that your relationship with yourself is the most important relationship you can have. How you treat yourself and talk to yourself determines everything in terms of your feelings, your thoughts and the actions you take.
Peace begins when thoughts are simply observed, held lightly, and not clung to. A mind that dwells on lack cannot rest.
Another thing Robbins recommends is putting your hand over your heart in the morning when you wake up. After taking a deep breath, say “I’m okay. I’m safe. I’m loved.” And you will feel those things, along with being more connected to yourself.
Try it yourself
If you’re ready to start making the high 5 habit a part of your life – or at least to test it out to see if it works for you – she offers a free High Five Challenge.
The High 5 Challenge is designed to help you:
- Become more fearless
- Feel more hopeful
- Trust yourself more
Every day during the challenge, you will receive an email, watch a video, write in your journal, high five yourself and cheer on other members who are doing the same thing.
And while it may feel a bit silly at first, that might be part of why it works.
You have nothing to lose by trying. And let us know in the comments below if it works for you.
