High five in the mirror
A silent high five to your own reflection after brushing your teeth
Brush your teeth, look up, and high five the person in the mirror. Say nothing. The gesture borrows the meaning a high five already carries, encouragement and being on the same team, and points it at yourself, which is why people who do it say it interrupts the morning habit of picking apart what they see.
People on record
Sorted by strength of stance
Does it: documented as part of their own routine. Recommends: explicitly advises other people to do it. Discusses: covered it substantively without clear personal adoption; this can include criticism or disagreement.
- Mel RobbinsDoes it
Author and podcaster · The Let Them Theory
Part of her fixed morning sequence: alarm, bed made, 16 ounces of water, then a high five to herself in the mirror before she heads outside for a walk. She has built a whole book around the gesture.
Source: The Mel Robbins Podcast: Boost Your Success in 2024: Top Tips“I always make my bed first thing in the morning because there's this momentum to just having it done. I walk into the bathroom, I have 16 ounces of water. I keep a mason jar right there, and I just drink 16 ounces of water. I look in the mirror, I high five myself into the day, and then I get outside and I take a minimum of a 10 minute walk.”
The Mel Robbins Podcast: Boost Your Success in 2024: Top Tips (opens in a new tab)
Aimed at the same thing
Other entries filed under stress or energy.
- HabitFREE, no cost
Daily walking
A long walk most days, often without headphones
On record from 19 of 62 tracked people: 14 do it, 5 recommend it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Cooking family dinner
Making the evening meal from scratch as the default, kids in the kitchen
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Morning puttering
A slow, unscheduled first hour or two: coffee, the paper, breakfast, no meetings
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Time in nature
Deliberate time outdoors among trees, water or open sky, most days
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - Habit$$$Cheap: Roughly under $50, or under $15/month.
Vegetable gardening
Growing food you then cook, on a plot, a raised bed or a balcony
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it - HabitFREE, no cost
Work-life harmony
Treat work and home as feeding each other rather than as a strict trade-off
On record from 1 of 62 tracked people: 1 does it
Habit entry · notes paraphrased from cited sources, quoted excerpts copied from the transcript they link to. Not medical advice. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or reviewed by anyone listed. How this works.