The Power of Five Seconds ⏳
This morning, I dragged myself to my favorite gym class. You know, the one that usually leaves me feeling like a champion. But today…? Not so much. I was tired, and as soon as we started the endurance workout — 6 minutes per station (yeah, SIX) — I knew I was in trouble.
Who signed me up for this?! 😅
By minute one of the fourth station, I was ready to tap out. Five whole minutes left?! YIKES 😬 Cue the mental pep talk. I remembered a little tip someone at the gym shared with me a few weeks ago: break it down.
So, I started doing the math (yes, doing math at the gym 🙄). At 5 minutes, I had 10 intervals of 30 seconds left. Easy, right? Except those 30 seconds felt like an eternity! So I shifted gears — 15-second intervals. Better, but still tough.
Four minutes left. Now we’re down to 10-second intervals — 24 of them, to be exact. 10 seconds down, 23 left… but even THAT was dragging. So, around the 3:30 mark, I switched to 5-second intervals. Just FIVE seconds at a time. I counted 42 of those bad boys and before I knew it, I finished stronger than I started! 💪🔥
Here’s the thing: Sometimes in life, we face challenges that feel just as relentless as those 6-minute stations did for me this morning. We know we’ll finish, but ugh — actually pushing through? Feels impossible. That's where breaking down a big, scary task into teeny-tiny (very achievable) chunks can save the day. Suddenly, you’re not dealing with the whole mountain — just the next step in front of you.
A friend of mine (who juggles a full-time job and three active kids — superwoman, anyone?) shared that on hectic Saturdays and Sundays with lots of places to be, she can’t even think about the whole day. She’s gotta take it hour by hour because the full schedule gives her anxiety. Heck, it made me stressed hearing about it! One day at a time, one hour at a time, one task at a time, and she wins the day.
So, what about you? Got something in your life that feels like too much? Maybe it’s a project, a tough conversation, or even your workout routine. Try breaking it down. Maybe instead of tackling the whole week, focus on today. Instead of that 30-minute workout, aim for 5 minutes. Sometimes, all it takes is just five seconds. 😉
What’s your version? What’s the tiniest step you can take?
Lotsa Love,
Abbey