5 Quotes By Mel Robbins That Will Make You Unstoppable
Motivation is garbage
Mel Robbins is a keynote speaker, bestselling author, coach and entrepreneur.
Yet, her life’s work was all a gigantic mistake. At 41 years old, she found herself in the midst of intense personal turmoil. Her family was 800k in debt, she was unemployed and fighting with her husband. Her drinking habit was…she was unemployed and fighting with her husband. Her drinking habit was bordering on addiction.
She felt like an utter failure.
Each morning she would lay in bed thinking of all the problems she had. And then hit the snooze button because she was too tapped out.
She sought to find a way out of the knowledge-action gap. The place where you know what you need to do, but can’t bring yourself to actually do it. To wake up on time, prepare the kids, go for a run and look for a job. The actions that would help her change.
She continued this cycle for several months. Convincing herself that tomorrow she would change. But each morning hitting the snooze button and staying stuck.
Until one night, she saw an ad on TV about a rocket launch by NASA. And then it hit her- that was the solution to her problems. She would launch herself like a rocket ship. She would launch herself so hard she had no time to think, to talk herself out of what she needed to do.
The next morning when she woke up, she pretended NASA was there counting down 5–4–3–2–1. For the first time in three months, she broke the habit of hitting the snooze button.
From this deceptively simple technique, she transformed her life.
Here are 5 quotes from Mel Robbins that will make you unstoppable.
1. Stop Using The F*@! Word
The F-bomb is everywhere. Everyone uses it. It doesn't sound smart. It doesn't express how you are feeling. It’s a cheap word.
Each time you drop this word into your sentences it keeps you stuck. It excuses you from doing anything to move your life forward. It signifies a passive acceptance of things as they are. You have convinced yourself that you are okay with not having what you want.
We are talking about the word: FINE
Are you fine with a relationship with your partner that feels like you are housemates? Are you are fine with having sex once in four months? Are you are fine being without a job and having unpaid bills? Are you fine with lugging around extra pounds of body fat that you know are not healthy for you?
How To Apply It
Be brutally honest with yourself about what in your life you are unhappy with.
For each of the areas where you are not satisfied, know that you can change. You can move to new heights.
It will need you to move past your doubts and fears. To move past your ideas of what is possible and the limitations you have placed on yourself.
It will need action on your part. It’s simple but it’s not easy.
2. Stop Beating Yourself Up For Things You Had No Intention of Doing
At the start of the year, driven by tradition and the promise of the new we all sets resolutions. We resolve to get fit, to make more money, to leave the job we hate and treat our loved ones better.
But research indicates that by the second week of February 92% of us will have reverted to our old habits.
Only 8% of us will make a change in our lives.
There are several reasons for this. We underestimate the amount of effort needed to change. We set goals that are beyond our current skill level. We set too many goals at once.
Say you want to exercise more. Yet you have an affinity for alcohol and a love of carbs. You hate sleeping early and the thought of all that work exhausts you before you start.
Fast forward to one year and think about what you will need to do. Are you ready to give up the sweets and sugars? Are you ready to give up TV and go to sleep earlier? Are you ready to forego a night out for a morning run?
How To Apply It
One way around this is to get honest with yourself about what it’s going to take to get what you want.
Because to change is to do something different. To stop complaining about the cards life has dealt you. To start taking responsibility for your results, or lack thereof.
Change needs you to become someone different.
The question is are you ready to do what it takes?
3. Stop Waiting For Motivation
We have convinced ourselves that what’s stopping us from doing what we need to do is a lack of motivation. But motivation is garbage. You are never going to feel ready to do the things you know you need to do. You are never going to feel ready to exercise, to start a business, to ask that person out.
Our brains are designed to keep us in the familiar. Because to change is to risk. It’s to risk getting hurt, to risk being humiliated and to risk loss. Change is scary.
Your mind is wired to stop you from hurting yourself. It magnifies risk to pull you away from anything it perceives to be a problem.
It starts with a subtle habit that we engage in but don't realise: hesitation.
Each time you have an idea and you hesitate, your brain fires a stress signal. Hesitation indicates danger. At this point, your brain goes to work to protect you. It brings to the fore all the reasons why this will not work. It points out all the other times this failed and what it felt like.
How To Apply It
When you sense yourself hesitating, use the 5–4–3–2–1 technique to stop yourself. Counting backwards means you are more aware of what you are doing. It has the advantage of being brief. If you were to count upwards you wouldn’t know when to stop.
In the beginning, you will have to use the method several times. You are breaking a habit and the mind wants to hold on to the familiar. Your mind wants to hold on to the old ways.
Understand that you have a tiny window of at most 5 seconds. Beyond this, your emotions stop you from moving forward. The trick is in interrupting these automatic habits.
It’s about guarding your ideas against early death.
4.Stop Wasting Your Most Productive Hours
The first two to three hours when you wake up are your most productive hours. Your mind is most suggestible, your attention is at its peak and your energy is high.
It doesn’t matter what time you wake up, what matters is what you do when you wake up.
Use those moments before your day gets hectic to work on your priorities. To get to work on the stuff that is important but not urgent.
How To Apply It
Avoid checking your phone immediately upon waking up. The reason for this is that you get sucked into other people’s agendas. You risk falling into the trap of defining yourself with what other people are doing.
Rather use the first hours of your day to work on your goals. To review your plans and set yourself up for success.
5.Stop Nixing The Idea of Starting a Business
If you find yourself daydreaming about something all the time pay attention. If you always think about how a life spent doing that one thing would be like then that is where the magic lies.
Follow your curiosity. Do the research. Go to the library. Buy books. Google it. Listen to podcasts. There is a lot of information out there. You do not need to reinvent the wheel. There is nothing new under the universe.
How To Apply It
It’s easy to think that your dreams are not valid. To convince yourself that it’s too late for you and that you don’t have what it takes. To worry about what your family and friends will say.
To push aside that feeling that keeps telling you that there is more you can do.
If you find your gut battling your mind, stop and listen to it.
The world is waiting for your input.
To recap here are the 5 ways to be unstoppable:
1. Stop Using The F*@! Word
2. Stop Beating Yourself Up For Things You Had No Intention of Doing
3. Stop Waiting For Motivation
4. Stop Wasting Your Most Productive Hours
5. Stop Nixing The Idea of Starting a Business
Mel Robbins has been described as being blunt, unapologetic and vulnerable. Her well researched and powerful insights are a blend of research and country charm.
She says what everyone is thinking but is too afraid to speak about. She is not a self-help guru, rather she delivers it as it is.
Her straight-talking, no non-sense approach is one of the reasons that her Ted Talk “How To Stop Screwing Yourself Over” is one of the most-watched talks of all time.