50 pages • 1 hour read
Mel RobbinsThe 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Mel Robbins (The Author)
Melanie (Mel) Robbins is The 5 Second Rule’s author as well as a host and motivational speaker. Robbins was born in Missouri and graduated from Dartmouth College before studying law at Boston College. After graduating, Robbins worked as a criminal defense attorney. When her first child was born, she switched to hosting television shows such as The Mel Robbins Show, Monster In-Laws, and Someone’s Gotta Go. Robbins and her husband, Christopher (Chris) Robbins, have three children together, all of whom occasionally figure in this book.
In The 5 Second Rule, Robbins reveals that her career as a TV host was not as successful as she wished. At the same time, her entrepreneur husband’s pizza business unexpectedly went bankrupt due to expanding too quickly. It was during this period of financial anxiety that Robbins came up with the #5SecondRule. Today, she is most renowned for her TEDx talk “How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over,” which forms the basis for this book.
Christopher Robbins
Christopher (Chris) Robbins is Mel Robbins’s husband. He occasionally figures in The 5 Second Rule as both a source of tension and support for Robbins. She first blames him and his failed business for her own anxiety and insecurity. However, since discovering the #5SecondRule, she has recovered from her anxiety and has realized that blaming him is unfair and unhelpful.
Chris is also a source of support for Robbins as the first person (excluding herself) to use the #5SecondRule. Equally stressed about their financial situation after the bankruptcy, Chris learned to use the Rule as a way to better balance his life and de-stress: He quit drinking, took up meditation, and began exercising every morning. These life chances were not easy to implement at first, but they ultimately helped both recover from their financial troubles. At the same time, the mutual support they gave each other during the recovery process strengthened their relationship.
Antonio Damasio
Antonio Damasio is a Portuguese American neuroscientist currently tenured at the University of Southern California. He is most famous for authoring Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain (2010) and Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain (1994), two highly influential books in the field of neuroscience. Damasio has extensive clinical experience. His decade-long research on patients who no longer feel emotions after suffering brain damage reveals that humans make decisions based on their gut feelings rather than logic.
Damasio’s work influenced The 5 Second Rule: It explains why people procrastinate on doing easy tasks such as waking up on time, doing the dishes, or replying to emails. People logically know they will be happier having done these tasks, which are not hard on their bodies or minds, but they choose not to do them regardless. Their actions are not dictated by logic but by their feelings, which seek immediate gratification. Wishing for short-term gain allows people to disregard the long-term consequences of their passivity, even if they logically know it is not sustainable.
Julian B. Rotter
Julian B. Rotter was an American psychologist and faculty member at Ohio State University and the University of Connecticut. He is most famous for developing the “locus of control” theory and has since become one of the most cited psychologists of the 20th century. His clinical experience and research have transformed approaches to the field of clinical psychology.
Robbins uses the locus of control theory to explain why the #5SecondRule can have life-altering effects. It stipulates that people are much more likely to be successful and happy if they believe they have a certain amount of control over their actions and lives. In other words, people who can force themselves to become proactive in the present using the Rule demonstrate to themselves that they are in control of their actions. This can be immediately rewarding and empowering, thus setting the stage for future success. Over time, the #5SecondRule can help people get into the habit of being proactive about their lives and decisions, thereby improving their locus of control, their happiness, and their chances of success.
