How To High-Five Your Way To Happiness
Question, have you ever high-fived someone and said, “F you, asshole?” No! Because when we high-five, it is out of celebration and love. When I read about this ‘high five habit ‘Mel Robbins was promoting I was intrigued. What is it? It’s the simple gesture of high-fiving your reflection that is scientifically proven to immediately improve your mood and even change negative thought patterns. How, you ask? The science behind it is simple - when you high-five, your brain releases dopamine which is a chemical that boosts happiness. And the kicker is your brain doesn’t care if you are high-fiving yourself or someone else - it will react the same way! Basically, you can high-five your way to happiness...more or less.
I’ve been doing it daily since I learned about it. Why not I thought ? It’s a quick high five. If it has all these amazing benefits, of course I can do that! The only downside is the handprint on my bathroom mirror!
It’s already helped me so much. When I hit a sidewalk curb with the front-end of my car, instead of beating myself up like I normally would have, I said, “I am a human and made a mistake and that’s ok.” That is what this habit is all about - helping you get to a place of self-love and self-congratulation where you aren’t kicking yourself over every small error. Life is messy and can get really hard sometimes, but we can make it just a little easier by being kinder to ourselves. Incorporating this habit into your daily routine is a great way to start this journey. I high-five myself every morning without fail. (A sticky note on my makeup compact has been a great reminder!)To reiterate, I learned this all from my friend Mel Robbins. She goes further in depth on it in her new book ‘The High 5 Habit” and touches upon it on our “Heal Squad X Maria Menounos” podcast, if you want to take a listen. Thank you, Mel for teaching me and the world this fun yet effective tool.
Link to episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpfTApamNNw
Order Mel’s New Book “The High Five Habit”: https://www.amazon.com/High-Habit-Take-Control-Simple-ebook/dp/B096JQSWQ6
