The focus of Act Happy Week is to educate the public about purposeful actions you can take to create chemical shifts in your body that drive Positive Emotions. Here is today's exercise:

Conversation is one of the most human and affirmative things you can do. Think about it - the worst punishment in our world is solitary confinement - the elimination of conversation. When you engage with others with positive intent, you feed into a positive emotional space for both of you.

Perform acts of kindness. Liberty Mutual Insurance runs commercials in which a person performs a small act of kindness for another... and a person who witnesses that does a favor for someone else, and so on. The commercial serves as a powerful reminder that even the smallest actions done out of good intentions can have a ripple effect in the world. Plus, you feel better about yourself when you reach out to others!

Send a note to a friend. For no reason. Hand write, "I was thinking of you and decided to send you a smile." That simple.

Call/visit someone who is lonely. When you reach out to someone who is alone, all you need to do is be with them. Listen, exchange stories, read aloud, just be present. You create the gift of a memory to savor.

Act Happy Week coincides with American Chocolate week, a celebration of chocolate brands made in the USA. Chocolate contains chemical compounds that cause a positive emotional effect - that's why happiness and chocolate mix well!

What's your favorite chocolate?

• Perhaps it's Ghiradelli or TCHO, made in San Francisco?
• Socially responsible chocolate, like Endangered Species from Indianapolis?
• Big Old Chocolate like Mars or Hersheys?
• Or maybe locavore chocolate - in Cleveland that might be Malley's or the positively divine Lilly's in Tremont.

Whatever your taste, give a shout out today to a chocolate made in America!

Hi, I'm Jim Smith, PCC, The Executive Happiness Coach^®. I work with smart, successful people like you, who secretly struggle with stress and overwhelm as you strive to succeed at the next level. I help you become a better leader AND dump the stress.

I have helped thousands of leaders and business owners just like you to increase effectiveness at work AND live a happier, more balanced life. Contact me to learn how you can create a less-stress leadership presence.

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Copyright © 2012, All Rights Reserved. Reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: "From HAPPINESS@THESPEEDOFLIFE, by Jim Smith, PCC, The Executive Happiness Coach®. For more tips on Leading with Less Stress, visit www.TheExecutiveHappinessCoach.com." If you choose to do otherwise, I will be very unhappy.