The Five Second Rule. If you’re like most people, you probably associate it with food hitting the ground. But this has nothing to do with your belly. Instead, we’re talking about your brain.

Our minds play tricks on us all the time, especially when it comes to motivation. Since the brain is designed to prevent us from doing things that are dangerous or scary – which includes wading into the unknown or uncertain – we often sabotage ourselves, explains author and keynote speaker Mel Robbins.

“… You can truly trace every single problem or complaint in your life to silence and hesitation,” she said, in an interview. “Those are decisions.”

So how do you force yourself into action when your brain is screaming at you to stop? Enter the Five Second Rule. By simply counting down from five and forcing yourself to take the leap, you override your brain’s innate desire to pull you away from what it perceives as problematic or frightening.

This bridges the knowledge-action gap, where we know what we need to do but can’t make ourselves execute it, says Robbins. The result is empowering: it can make us better in all areas of life, from negotiations to the gym.

“It’s your job to learn how to move from those ideas that could change everything into acting on them in the smallest moment,” she says.

For Robbins, the act of ditching her snooze button habit changed her life. To hear her empowering story, and learn more about how to harness the power of the Five Second Rule, watch The Secret to Self-Motivation.