stroke or watching Susie die of ALS was horrible. Quality of life is very important to me. And
the quality of my life has been more than I could have ever wished for. As a kid I always wanted
to be a doctor, and I became one. Your mom and I have had a wonderful life together. You and
your brother turned out. I’ve basically done exactly what I wanted to do with my life. And that’s
all you can ever ask for...that and more time to enjoy it.”
It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever shared with my dad and
without the #5SecondRule, I wouldn’t have found my courage to ask the question. I
just sat there in the back of that cab and took it all in. And then he added this:
“Actually, there is one thing I want to do,” he said, “I’d like to see Africa. And if I make
it to 90, I want to jump out of plane like George H. Bush did on his 90th birthday.”
I laughed. “You will dad, you will.”
That conversation with my dad reminded me of something important. Waiting
for the right time to get real in your relationships is a fool’s errand. There is no right
time to have the conversation, ask the hard questions, say “I love you,” or take the
time to truly listen. There is only right now.
Sometimes it’s not merely a hard question that you need to ask. It’s actually
ending the silence between you. It had been “years since” Cortney let her
relationship go with her father, but she had been wanting to make amends. She
didn’t “pass out or over think it,” like she would have in the past. Instead, she used
the #5SecondRule to trust her instinct and just pick up the phone and call her dad.
She just “said out loud 5- 4- 3- 2- 1 and just hit call and did it.”
It only takes five seconds to change your life.