Eat a kiwi every day – and 9 other wellness tips we’ve learned from Mel Robbins
It’s Mel Robbins’s world, we just live in it. The ubiquitous wellbeing guru is big on accessible lifestyle tips – here are her best ones
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Everyone’s talking about Mel Robbins. Celebrity fans from Oprah to The Rock sing the praises of the American self-development guru. Beauty founder Trinny Woodall and neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart were among fans at her two sold-out shows in London last weekend. And she’s continually referenced in friends’ WhatsApp groups around the world – including probably one of yours.
The 56-year-old former lawyer is a motivational leading light, thanks to her snappily galvanising books: The 5 Second Rule, £16.99, The High 5 Habit, £12.12, and The Let Them Theory, £16.39. Spurred on by her own experience of getting out of $800,000 debt, she has now helped countless people climb out of a psychological hole by inspiring them to take action.
Besides her books, which have sold over seven million copies worldwide, she interviews experts in fitness, nutrition and mental wellbeing on The Mel Robbins Podcast, which averages over 1.5 million weekly downloads, and shares tips with her 10 million followers on Instagram. Her protein coffee idea has certainly changed some morning routines in the Get the Gloss office.
With any success there comes a backlash, and this year Robbins was accused of plagiarism by writer Cassie Phillips, whose poem “Let Them” went viral in 2022. Arguably the concept – that we can’t control others – is not a new one to either author. But Mel Robbins’s particular set of skills is communicating these ideas in a simple, memorable way – and she does that better than anyone.
“Her advice is very actionable,” says dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting. “When I listen to her, I am inspired and energised. I find it particularly helpful to listen to her podcast first thing in the morning to get me in the right frame of mind for a busy day ahead as an entrepreneur.”
So if you’re looking for motivation, these 10 tips could be the mindset shift you need today.
Image: © Tony Luong
Don’t waste your time on things you can’t control
The crux of the Let Them theory is that we all waste time trying to get other people to behave differently. “Any time we try to control something that we can’t control, it just creates stress and frustration,” she explained to Dr Rangan Chatterjee on his Feel Better Live More podcast. “You’re in control [only] of your ability to respond to life.” It’s a simple idea, but one that’s rarely communicated so clearly in the modern world (although, as Mel added, ancient philosophers The Stoics and 20th century Austrian psychologist Viktor Frankl were saying the same thing).
Eat a kiwi a day
The fruit is an inflammation-lowering powerhouse, said medical scientist Dr William Li, when he appeared on The Mel Robbins Podcast. The benefits mostly come from the vitamin C and fibre, which is of course available in other foods, but he argued that a kiwi is such a rich source of both that it’s worth including every day. The positive effects on your gut microbiome will be felt “within 24 hours”, he claimed.
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Small, consistent action changes everything
“My life didn’t change because of one thing that I did,” writes Mel in The Let Them Theory, of getting herself out of debt and onto the world’s stage. “It changed because of the thousands of mornings where I woke up and didn’t feel like getting out of bed, but I made myself do it.” The point is that there is no magic fix. The only way out is by facing your problems head on, then taking steps every day towards making them better. “Every day” is key, because consistency is everything.
Remember every adult is simply an eight-year-old in a big body
The idea is that a grumpy eight-year-old is inside all of us and, unless we’ve made an effort to learn emotional maturity, then we’re prone to sulk or tantrum, just as a child does. Bearing this is mind is a good way to deal with difficult people because you see them with a bit more empathy. If an eight-year-old was behaving in a difficult way, you might ask: are they tired? Are they hungry? Are they scared, or feeling excluded? And then you can respond with compassion.
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Keep your phone out of your bedroom overnight
Oprah was delighted when Mel reclined across her chair to demonstrate what happens when you keep your phone by your bed, on an edition of The Oprah Podcast about anxiety. “The alarm goes off, and you pick up the phone,” mimed Mel. “You aren’t even vertical yet, and you have just allowed the world news and a thousand strangers on Instagram into your bedroom. You’re checking emails and text messages and you wonder why you’re stressed out and exhausted.”
“You are so right,” exclaimed Oprah. “And it absolutely takes longer to get out of bed.”
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Go for a 10-minute walk
This one is a great example of an idea that’s not exactly groundbreaking, but Mel sells it in such a way that you actually feel motivated to do it. While taking part in a treadmill Walk & Talk with Peloton, she said of a daily walk: “In just ten minutes, you feel like a completely different human being, because you have accessed all of this intelligent design in your body to flood you with wonderful neurochemicals.” You already knew that a daily walk is good for your health, but now you actually want to pop out for a quick turn around the block, right? And everyone can squeeze in 10 minutes.
Ask yourself this question to stop worry in its tracks
Most of us have a pretty negative monologue going on in our heads. And, in evolutionary terms, it makes sense: predicting the worst-case scenario is our brain’s way of keeping us safe. But in a world where we’re very rarely dealing with a life-threatening situation, all that does is raise our stress levels. Mel suggests breaking that thought cycle with six simple words: “What if it all works out?” Asking yourself this will interrupt anxious thoughts and allow you to experience the world in a more positive way.
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Don’t hit the snooze button
What’s the harm in a few more minutes of dozing? If you’re still on time for work, then it’s no biggie, right? Well, argues Mel, slipping back into sleep for a few minutes triggers your brain to go into a sleep cycle. Then when your alarm goes off again five minutes later, it puts you into a state of sleep inertia which, she says, impacts your productivity for a staggering four hours. Instead, use her five-second rule and force yourself to get out of bed by counting down from five.
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Take the FACE approach to fitness
Forget about elaborate routines or expensive gyms. When orthopaedic surgeon Dr Vonda Wright appeared on Mel’s podcast, she said fitness refuseniks can look after their muscles, bones and cardiovascular health by thinking of this very simple acronym:
- Flexibility: an online yoga class or some simple stretches every day.
- Aerobic: walking, running, swimming, cycling – whatever works for you.
- Carry a load: easier for many than the intimidating-sounding ‘strength training’.
- Equilibrium – or balance: this can be as simple as standing on one leg while brushing your teeth.
Don’t be too busy to mark life’s small milestones
This is all about making sure that you enjoy small moments before they ‘melt like an ice cube.’ A reel featuring Mel narrating a passage from The Let Them Theory about prioritising time with those you love, with footage of her husband and kids, prompted Davina McCall to comment: “Love this book. My last child passed his driving test yesterday, it felt HUGE to me. The end of an era … a celebration for sure!!! But an end of something too. ”
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