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 offer (393 words of content, Reading time ~1.6 minutes):

Tip: After you read this, take a minute to: Just. Breathe!

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I. ACT HAPPY WEEK, DAY 5: WHAT'S THE ONE THING?

In 2018 I was guest on the Leadership Hacks Podcast with my esteemed colleague, Jill Windelspecht, a fellow executive coach and organization consultant. Jill invited me to bring my best hack (shortcut/workaround) to the conversation, so I showed up with the most basic tool in my box: Breathing.

You’ve heard me say it before: if you want to be a better anything – leader, parent, friend, partner, job seeker, or coach — start with being more self-aware. Use your body to better manage your intellectual and emotional brain.

Your breath is a powerful tool.

To have a more confident leadership presence, improve your ability to handle conflict, make better decisions, manage your emotions, feel happier (or at least less stressed), be a more confident speaker, or become a better listener – start with how you breathe.

Breathing on Purpose is a simple hack to center yourself. It takes practice yet, unlike other new habits, you need not “find time” to do it, because you’re already breathing! (23 mins) here. The page includes a transcript (unedited) if you want to skim quickly.

Remember: Leadership is not about a title. Anyone can be a Leader who nurtures self-awareness and the capacity to calm down themselves and those around them.

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II.  An Offer: Treat Yourself to a mini coaching

Think of the podcast as a 23-minute tutorial (15 mins at 1.5X) on how to use breath to access more confidence and authority, listen more deeply, and even reduce stress and panic. I tell my own story of using breathing to pull myself out of a panicked state right before a big speech. Here’s the link again.