High Five✋🏻

Yesterday, I was on Instagram and noticed that one of my favorite motivational speakers was going live. Typically, I do not tune in since it's the middle of the work day for me, but something told me to click this one & at the very least have it on in the background. And let me tell you, I am so incredibly glad that I listened to my intuition. I have to share it with you!

The speaker I am referring to is Mel Robbins. Some of you may know her name, others may not. Or you may view her work simply as strategies or techniques to help improve your life, but did you know that her work is actually backed my science, and research studies done about the functionality of the human brain? How cool is that?! And in my opinion the best part is how she can explain it in a way that actually makes sense, and feels doable for anyone, not just science minded individuals. 

Recently, Mel launched a new book called The High Five Habit, and during her Instagram live she was teaching about the concept of giving yourself a high five in the mirror every morning. 

Now, this may seem like a silly thing to do. And to be honest, I sort of thought this as well the first time I heard about it. However, once I heard the explanation of why this can absolutely change the outlook of your day I thought, "This is genius!"

Think about it...There is a lifetime of joy built up in your nervous systems from giving others high fives! Your team scores a touchdown, high five! Your team member, friend, or family member accomplishes something awesome, high five! You want to show encouragement, high five! It is an action our brains can recognize as positive. So, what will our brains do if we gave ourselves a high five?

“(We are) used to high fiving others, but not ourselves. It’s unexpected! So your prefrontal cortex engages and you have a positive thought with it; you accelerate new neural pathway development. And so you’re using the physical action that is unexpected, along with a lifetime of positive programing to fundamentally rewire how you think about yourself.” - Mel Robbins (excerpt from interview with Ed Mylett, available on YouTube)

In the interview quoted above they also discuss resistance to this practice, why we withhold it from ourselves, deeper insight to the science behind it, as well as Mel's personal discovery & practice of this habit. 

If this has even remotely sparked your curiosity, I'd like to invite you watch the full interview (or have it on in the background)! It could be just the thing that you are looking for to help you continue on your path of championing your life.

I hope you find as much value in this as I have. 

Best,

Dr. Gretchen, PT