During times of stress, leaders are asked to show up with a level of emotional intelligence greater than ever required in the past. Everyone wants them to be problem solvers, think creatively and with compassion and equanimity, and be the beacon guiding their companies through difficulties.

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Yet, leaders are not immune to the stressors we all face. 

Many of our leaders find themselves increasingly stressed, even burned out.

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I created a 21-day challenge to improve emotional intelligence in short order.

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The challenge's first component is understanding how the mind, aka the operating system of our lives, works. The health of our minds is the most significant determinant of our intelligence, effectiveness, and happiness; 

yet we need to learn more about how it works. Filling in this knowledge gap significantly improves self-awareness and personal power.

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Secondly, it delivers short practices that, when brought into daily life, shift the mind from a place of anxiety and fear to one that is focused, creative, and even joyful. These scientifically validated practices take less than 10 minutes a day.

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The Power of Peer Accountability

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The challenge capitalizes on the desire for accountability within the group. Members share their daily progress with their accountability partners. This ensures their success with the program and builds their friendship and sense of connection to the group.

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Value to Members

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Members report that a few days into the challenge, their focus improves, they make better decisions, and feel less stressed. They also report an improved team spirit within the group and a more profound sense of connection to their peers.

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The Stressed Mind Follows a Predictable Pattern

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Faced with an uncertain future, we generate multiple worse-case scenarios and then attempt to troubleshoot each outcome.

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We think like lizards: with tunnel-vision focus on our thoughts, exaggerating danger levels, seeing others as threats, and searching for quick fixes. We get hooked on stressful thought patterns.

This response may be helpful when facing a hungry predator but needs to be better suited to our modern-day challenges.

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To move beyond this stress-induced dilemma, we need to shift our neurochemistry to take us out of the spiral of negative thinking.

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The practices of the 21-day challenge boost our neurochemistry. Each exercise causes a "hit" of beneficial hormones that shift our mindset from self-absorption to generosity, scarcity to abundance, and fear to love. This mindset shift allows us to be the best version of ourselves and delight in life's journey.

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After a short introduction to how the mind generates thoughts, 4–5 practices are introduced, including meditation, breathing exercises, and gratitude practices. Members then commit to practicing one of these days, using another group member as an accountability partner.