How can you stop giving in to your excuses?

Your mind is still negotiating — how do you start taking action?

Your bag is ready. The task is clear. Yet you still find another reason not to start.

‘How can you stop giving in to your excuses?’ explores this familiar hesitation. At its centre is the countdown from Mel Robbins’ five-second idea: finding the transition to the first action, without trying to solve your entire future at once.

The appeal of this text lies in its simplicity. You recognise the small inner negotiation that can turn a clear intention into endless delay. It gives you a reason to examine how you actually get started.

You know what you want to do — yet the negotiation starts in your head. Perhaps you do not need another argument, but a clear first step.

Launch like a rocket

“Later. Tomorrow. When I feel more like it.” Almost everyone knows those lines. They appear before a training session just as they do before an uncomfortable phone call or an unfinished task.

In her book “The 5 Second Rule”, Mel Robbins describes a simple method: count backwards from five to one, then begin the action you intended to take. It is a starting signal you set yourself. The author’s method does not guarantee that every obstacle will disappear after five seconds. [S04]

Not the whole session — just the beginning

Make the first step as concrete as possible. Not: “I have to change my entire life today.” Instead: “I’ll lay out my clothes now.” Or: “I’ll start the first task I agreed to do.”

The countdown can help you avoid renegotiating every decision you have already made. After that, the action itself matters. A packed bag is not a training session, but it can make getting there easier.

An excuse or a real signal?

The distinction matters. Reluctance is different from pain, illness or clear exhaustion. This method is not an invitation to ignore necessary recovery or warning signs. Sometimes the sensible action is precisely to adjust the load or discuss a question with your coach.

Decisions with greater consequences still require thought, too. Not every spontaneous idea improves by being acted on immediately.

A trial for today

Choose a small task whose value is already clear to you. Decide where you will begin. Count 5–4–3–2–1 and take that first step. Afterwards, consider whether the starting signal helped.

The value is not in a magic number. It is in moving from postponement to deliberate action.

Sources

[S04] Mel Robbins. The 5 Second Rule. author’s website. https://www.melrobbins.com/book/the-5-second-rule/