Nobuo started using the #5SecondRule after he was “released from an
executive director” role. He lost his motivation and “felt incapable.”
Using the Rule to practice acts of everyday courage “little by little,” Nobuo has
found just like Crystal did that “the power and energy has come back to my heart,
mind and body.” It’s come back because he has proven to himself that he has the
power to change things in his life.
There’s one more point I want to make about personality and confidence.
Remember what the engineer said right after he described how he froze the first
time he saw Chambers walk by in the hallway? He offered an explanation of sorts,
“I’m an ‘introvert’ and ‘this sort of thing’ doesn’t come naturally.”
What if I told you that nothing about your life or personality is fixed or “comes
naturally” anyway? Nothing comes naturally until you practice it. That’s why I keep
saying you must “practice” acts of everyday courage.
You have the ability to improve, change or enrich every single aspect of your
life—through action. Professor Brian Little, a psychologist at the University of
Cambridge, just gave a great TED Talk, “Who Are You, Really? The Puzzle of
Personality.” In it, he talks about the difference between extroverts and introverts and
the things that make us who we are. According to Professor Little, “It’s the doings.