Read to Lead: "The High 5 Habit" by Mel Robbins

linnearader
Apr 16
6 min read

Introduction

Ever wondered which books truly make a difference in leadership or life? Let's dive into the ones that do. Welcome to Read to Lead, a blog series where I dive into the best leadership, business, and self-help books.

As a passionate reader and leader, I’m always looking for fresh insights to fuel both Lead with Linnea and my own personal growth. In this series, I’ll share my honest, no-holds-barred reviews of the books I’m reading, highlighting the gems that can help you level up in both your career and life. Whether you’re a leader, entrepreneur, or simply looking for ways to grow, this series will help you find the best books to add to your reading list. Let’s read, learn, and lead together!

Today's Book Review

Today’s book review is The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins.

Why I Chose Mel Robbins' "The High 5 Habit"

Many years ago, I met Mel Robbins. I was at an American Public Works Association conference and the keynote speaker was Mel Robbins. While completely unknown to me prior to the conference, I couldn’t have been more excited once I heard her speak.

At the time, The 5 Second Rule, another one of her books, was in manuscript form and getting ready to publish. She had copies at the conference that she was signing. If you purchased the manuscript copy, when published, the book would be mailed to you.

Keynotes are supposed to motivate and inspire, and Mel Robbins did amazing. She was real, she didn’t claim perfection, her authenticity was easily apparent. Leaving her keynote I could have moved mountains, built bridges, changed the world. Her words stuck with me and left me so impressed by this amazing woman.

As I’ve started my journey for Lead with Linnea, the number of books I could read to help myself learn and grow is astounding and totally overwhelming. Where do I start? What do I start with? Well, I decided to start with authors I know and trust. The authors that I’ve learned from before and whose work has resonated with me in the past. Mel Robbins is absolutely, without a doubt, one of those authors.

"The High 5 Habit"

A simple high 5. Why does a high 5 exist? What power does this simple gesture have? In The High 5 Habit you come to understand not only the absolute power of this gesture but also the power of yourself and your brain.

When drafting a meaningful book review, it is SO hard not to over quote the book or give away too many spoilers. When I’m reading to learn, absorb, and be able to easily reflect, I use these little semi-transparent tabs to mark those pages. The tabs that stick out the top of the book? Those tabs mean I need to review those pages or sections regularly, they really meant something, those that stick out the sides are ideas to reflect on.

There are TWO topics or ideas that I’ll share with you without going into too much detail as to spoil this book for you.

1. The act of the high 5

2. Reticular Activating System (RAS)

Key Concept #1: The Power of a High Five

In The High 5 Habit, you’ll dive into the reason we give each other high 5s. So, think about that for a minute. What is the meaning behind this gesture? If I give someone a high 5, why am I doing it?

Personally, it means I’m excited for them, proud of what they are doing. It’s meant to be encouraging and supportive of their journey. In the book, Mel references getting high 5s along the way through a marathon and how impactful it is and how it can keep someone going.

That’s all in a gesture. Isn’t that crazy? If that simple movement of putting up a hand, extending your arm and high 5ing another person has that much impact, why don’t we do it all the time? Guess what you’ll read in this book…we should be!

The focus however isn’t on giving others high 5s, the focus is on giving them to ourselves. That sounds weird right? But think about how much love, support, encouragement we can give ourselves. And think about how much better we can feel about life if we do that for ourselves every single day.

That’s the premise of the book, build that habit. Build a habit of giving yourself praise, encouragement, acknowledgement every day. Be your biggest supporter, your own cheerleader.

In The High 5 Habit, you’ll dive into all of this and so much more. There’s science behind it and Mel gives us those details. For many of us, knowing the science and the reasons these actions work the way they do helps make them real.

Let’s take all this a step further. As a leader, how can the science behind this simple motion AND the motion itself help our teams? How can showing our teammates or team members, we appreciate them and believe in them help? Can we build stronger teams using these skills and this habit? Absolutely!

Key Concept #2: Understanding Your Reticular Activating System (RAS)

Now, on the side of science comes the RAS or Reticular Activating System. I’m going to be honest, there may be a few blog posts dedicated solely to this topic in the future, it is THAT important.

When you buy a new car do you start seeing more of the same make, model and even color? I’m not sure about you, but this happens to me ALL THE TIME. Even when my parents, brother, friends, they buy a new car, and I see it (or one like it) everywhere. Why? Because our RAS has been trained to recognize this as important to us. These people are important to us and thus, seeing them (or the vehicle they are in) is important to us too.

What about when you wake up and feel refreshed and ready for the day? Or when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and are convinced the day already sucks? Does it come true? Most of the time it does. Of course, there are things that can interrupt and redirect that train of thought, but a lot of how your day goes is how you wake up FEELING it is going to go. This is another example of our RAS at work.

I could truly go on for days providing examples of how this RAS works and how you can train it to help you, but Mel’s book does it in a much better way. You’ll read all the examples and how you can put minor changes in place within your life to redirect your entire mind set and in turn, your entire life.

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

The High 5 Habit, to me, was a page turner. I am a self-diagnosed nerd who is always looking for ways to learn and grow, and this book hit the spot. The integration of science and real-life scenarios that resonated with me made it all make sense in my brain.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Whether you’re a leader at work, a leader at home, or a leader of one (yourself), the impacts will be numerable and meaningful.

Get the book now!

Now that you’ve seen my review of The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins, pick up the book and read it! Pick it up at your local library or follow this link if you’d like to purchase the book. Full disclosure, I do get a commission if you buy from this link.

Buy "The High 5 Habit" Here

Your Turn: Share Your Opinion

Did you find the review helpful? Once you read the book, share your thoughts. Continue the conversation and keep on sharing! Tell me what you liked (or didn't) when you read the book. Your insights can share insight with others!

Recommend Your Leadership Reads

What’s a book that changed the way you lead or think? Share it, and I might feature it next! Include the book title and author name in the comments as well as why you think I should read it next. The most intriguing books will be read to be featured in future posts."

Books shape minds, and kindness shapes the world—let’s keep leading with both! As always, carry social kindness with you everywhere you go. The world needs you and your positive mindset!