The High 5 Habit

The High 5 Habit is a self-improvement book that aims to help anyone who deals with self-limitations take charge of their life by establishing a morning routine, ditching negative talk, and transforming their life through positivity and confidence.

Wait, what? A high-five with myself in the mirror? Well, that’s precisely what the author suggests, and to be honest with you, so far, it worked wonders for me too! Although it sounds stupid, this tiny piece of advice can change your entire day for the better. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some scientific facts that support this idea.

High-five are most commonly used to celebrate small or big victories in life, from childhood to maturity. Everybody has a good memory of the high-five. But, according to research in neurobiotics, high-fives in uncommon situations, such as after brushing your teeth, can make your brain form new neural connections more easily.

Combining this sign of victory with an uncommon occurrence makes your brain pay attention to the situation and remember it as a positive event throughout the day. Does it make sense? I hope so! Therefore, I highly encourage you to try it out for yourself. Tomorrow morning, when you wake up and brush your teeth, take a look in the mirror, and instead of picking at your insecurities, high-five your reflection in the mirror. Repeat it every morning from now on!

You’ve probably heard this a million times but stop thinking negatively, as it can seriously affect the quality of your life. Self-destructive behaviors can look at life performance anxiety, overwhelming feelings, anxiety, frustration, and many more.

For example, if you feel as if you’re going to fail a task before you even begin working on it, that can seriously impact the outcome of that activity. The author herself even missed two excellent career opportunities due to her fear of failure. So what’s there to do? If you feel as if you’re deep into the negative talk behavior and it already affects your life significantly, you can try therapy.

However, if you find yourself inclined to see the negative in a situation or get frustrated quickly, work on yourself and train your mind to become more optimistic. For example, instead of saying that you can’t do something or that someone is hard to work with, try saying that you’ll succeed at that task and that your colleagues may need your help to make work easier for them.

Your mind has a filter, much like a machine, called the Reticular Activating System, or the RAS. This system aims to filter the information you constantly receive so that only the relevant bits reach your conscious mind. However, sometimes this filter doesn’t function at…