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Motivation

The Power of “5 more minutes” & How to Make Use of it

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The Power of 5 More Minutes

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the phrase “5 more minutes”. I believe it’s most commonly used early in the morning shortly after the alarm goes off. But little do we know, this short phrase can hold so much power. Whether we use it constructively or not depends on the attitude we take on.

So why is "5 more minutes" so powerful?

Because it takes but 5 minutes to determine whether you will become successful or not. Will you become crazy rich, a world-class champion, or are you going to carry on living your normal life like ordinary people.

The reason I say this is because life can be tough when you’re on the journey to be successful, in terms of financial freedom or a healthy, fit body. When the path is rocky, we might find ways to fall short on our goals. We might believe we gave it our best when in fact, we were just giving up because it was easier than actually reaching our goals.

Try to ask yourself if you ever fall short in these aspects:

  • Snoozing the alarm when you told yourself you’ll wake up early
  • Hitting the stop button when you’re a few meters away from your target running distance 
  • Telling yourself you’ll start meditating tomorrow, next week, or even next month

The list goes on but you get the idea. Sometimes it’s tough to keep a healthy habit going and we might give ourselves excuses like “I tried but…”, “I can’t do it” or “it’s just not for me”. However, to succeed, we need to be making more progress than excuses. And if we fall short on something as small as 20m from our 5km target or waking up five minutes later than the alarm we set, then it’ll surely reflect on bigger goals when we fail to achieve them.

Now, how can we make use of "5 more minutes"?

Rather than letting yourself fall short on goals like giving yourself that extra few minutes to sleep, we can use it to push our limits (or at least what we think is our limit).

First, reach your goal. Don’t let your excuses take over. 
Then, tell yourself “5 more minutes”. 
Last, and most importantly, keep pushing. 

If you’re running on the treadmill or studying for the exam and you’re completely worn out, wanting to stop. Repeat this to yourself, “Just 5 more minutes” and then keep going. We might feel like we’re at our limits, but these 5 minutes will make all the difference. This is where the 5 minutes really count.

  • Snoozing the alarm when you told yourself you’ll wake up early
  • Hitting the stop button when you’re a few meters away from your target running distance 
  • Telling yourself you’ll start meditating tomorrow, next week, or even next month

Go the extra mile.
It’s never crowded.

Most people fall short of their goals. Some stop when they’ve reached their goals. But very few go beyond their goals. You might think it’s overwhelming or even impossible to achieve beyond your goals when it’s already hard enough to reach them. But that’s not true. It all starts with just “5 more minutes”.

In one sentence,

“5 more minutes” can either make you or break you.

This is no exaggeration because 5 minutes can determine whether you will become the successful person you’ve always dreamed of becoming or stay trapped in the normal, ordinary life where dreams are forever dreams.

The Power of 5 More Minutes