Five Minutes

A second, a split second, or a few seconds and one’s life can be irrevocably changed for better or for worse.

 

These instances are a fact of life that happen to all of us, but second in importance in matter of time is the lowly, easy five minutes.

Five minutes can turn a life around. A five minute commitment can dissolve excuses and launch us into the future we want.

I realize that some of you have your lives completely together, but for many of us the five minute rule can make all the difference. It’s not instantaneous, but it works.

A chief excuse for all of us when we want to add something in our lives comes to down to the time we must sacrifice for the new idea. There is never enough time. We are harried, over-booked, and often too exhausted to take up that which matters most to us (The excuses blog post will be coming soon).

Examples of applying that extra five minutes to our lives:

Many of us when we want to achieve fitness, so we join a gym, drive there, drive on to the next destination and get in those work-outs. Many resolutions start that way and many fail so try the five minute method.

If the drive there and back takes too much time, decide what you can do at home. For the price of a gym membership (which are great it you use them), you can buy a few things you can use at your house (no commute time) or even some major gym equipment for your house. The problem still comes down to the commitment to use it.

I suggest the five minute increment step. If we think about it, we can all spare five minutes. Start with getting dressed for a work out, walk to your work out space, say hello to it, and then return to your daily life. Less than five minutes. Once you have those five minutes mastered, take five minutes and pick up your weights, sit on your machine, or roll out your mat. Less than five minutes. Make it a routine.

I can almost guarantee that you will quickly become annoyed with this routine. Don’t give up on it. Since you’re already down there, spend five minutes on your intended exercise. Even five minutes a day of exercise is better than none. Your muscles will start learning the expectations. Thus habits are made.

Five minutes is not just for exercise.

Try five minutes for writing. Show up. Get the computer, laptop, or paper out. Say hello to it. Less than five minutes. Next step set a timer and write for five minutes. Every day, you can afford five minutes of time. Soon the new habit of showing up will extend in five minute increments to the time you need or want.

Try five minutes for walking, bike riding, gardening, reading, or playing with the co-inhabitants of your household whether they are dogs, cats, parrots or any other companion you’ve adopted.

Spend five minutes talking to your significant other or your child or your friend. Not five minutes of multi-processing, but five minutes of sole focus and eye contact and really listening to what they have to say. Let those five minutes incrementally increase. The desire becomes the habit and habit becomes what you really want out of life.

Think about what you really, truly want out of life and then show up. Five minutes is all it takes to start.

~lisa

As hard as it may be.