Decision Making: The 5 Second Rule

Learn how to improve your decision making in just five seconds!

Decision Making is a skillset that too many of us struggle with daily. We get stuck and can’t take the next step.

What is preventing you from taking that next step? Is it fear? Anxiety? Risk? Are you worried about making the wrong decision? Are there outside parties involved that may or may not agree with your decision?

Regardless of the external circumstances, you are going to have to make the decision.

One key to improving your decision making is to provide yourself and others grace when the outcome isn’t perfect. Decision making doesn’t operate as an all-or-nothing principle. The most important aspect of decision making doesn’t lie in the initial decision, but the ability to follow up by pivoting, adapting, and making adjustments. Think of decision making as a wheel that keeps on turning getting you closer to your goal. After you make the first decision, make another one, then another one – each one improving and building upon the next.

The 5 Second Rule

I read a great book that impacted and increased my ability to make decisions immediately. The book is called the “5 Second Rule” written by Mel Robbins. She also has a TED Talk on the subject. The gist of the book is this: when faced with a decision count down from 5 and decide.

“5,4,3,2,1 DECIDE!”

It sounds simple but the effects are profound.

My family and I implemented the 5 Second Rule when we took a vacation to Phoenix, Arizona. That one weekend we used the 5 Second Rule to make every decision we were faced with. 90% of the time we were happy with the outcomes and 10% of the time we had to make better follow up decisions.

Decision making is such a life skill and the 5 Second Rule is a quick, tangible way to help you improve in that area.

Read the book, and decide!

Let’s Ride,

Dr. Nathan Unruh, CXO, SIDECAR