{"id":91112,"date":"2023-01-31T13:37:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T17:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=91112"},"modified":"2023-02-06T17:35:35","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T21:35:35","slug":"how-to-take-control-of-your-life-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-take-control-of-your-life-2\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Take Control of Your Life in 3 Simple Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can you take control of your life<\/a>? How do you stop procrastinating<\/a> and start spending time on your passions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5 Second Rule<\/em> by Mel Robbins discusses how you put the 5 Second Rule into practice. When you do this, you’ll be able to stop procrastinating, start focusing on your passions, and manage your anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at how to take control of your life<\/a>, one day at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Stop Procrastinating<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ll first address how, in conjunction with other methods, the 5 Second Rule can help learn how to take control of your life and overcome two types of procrastination: procrastinating on daily tasks and procrastinating on life changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procrastinating on Daily Tasks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

To understand how the Rule will help you stop procrastinating on daily tasks, it\u2019s useful to first explain why<\/em> we procrastinate. Robbins argues that we procrastinate to temporarily relieve stress as we avoid a difficult or daunting task and replace it with things that boost our mood for the moment (like scrolling on Buzzfeed instead of washing your car).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing that procrastination is a response to stress, you can stop procrastinating on daily tasks using three strategies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Stop beating yourself up<\/a>.<\/strong> Robbins points out that feeling shameful over your procrastination only leads to more stress, which will continue the cycle of procrastination because you\u2019ll want to avoid that stress. Forgiving yourself<\/a> breaks the cycle so that your tasks feel less stressful and you\u2019re less likely to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Ask what the ideal future version of yourself would do. <\/strong>Robbins cites research showing that <\/strong>you\u2019re more likely to do something that will benefit you in the long run if you visualize yourself in your ideal future, living as the person you want to grow into.
3) Use the Rule. <\/strong>Robbins advises counting down from five and beginning the task you\u2019re procrastinating on when you reach one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procrastinating on Life Changes <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now that we\u2019ve discussed how to use the Rule to stop procrastinating on daily tasks, let\u2019s apply this approach to procrastination on major life changes: for instance, leaving a stressful housing situation, starting therapy, or switching jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robbins advises you to make big life changes<\/a> <\/strong>before<\/em><\/strong> you feel prepared<\/strong>. Instead of waiting until you feel totally calm and in control of the outcome, it\u2019s better to just start the process of change<\/a>. However, many of us procrastinate on these changes because we worry that we\u2019ll fail or that others will judge us for our big change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Robbins, to overcome this fear-driven procrastination, you only need courage and discipline. You can build these traits by challenging the worries that are causing you to procrastinate<\/a>. You must:<\/p>\n\n\n\n