Weekend Boost No. 180

PAUSING FOR LEADERSHIP IMPACT

In moments of pressure, it’s easy to react quickly — to a comment, a decision, or a difficult conversation.

But reacting and responding are not the same.

Responding requires awareness- noticing what’s happening internally before we act externally.

For leaders, that pause can shape the tone of a conversation, a team, or even a culture.

Here are three resources that explore how we strengthen this capacity so we can respond with intention to create the impact we want to have in our relationships and our world.

• How to Regulate Your Emotions and Mental Chatter When Bad Things Happen: In this episode of the 10% Happier podcast, host Dan Harris speaks with cognitive scientist Maya Shankar about how we navigate adversity and manage the “mental chatter” that often leads to reactive behavior. The conversation explores practical tools for regulating emotions, reframing difficult moments, and building the ability to respond thoughtfully rather than react automatically.

• What Does It Mean to Respond vs. React? : A quick visual explainer that lays out the idea of staying “above the line.” It shows how self-awareness, curiosity, and accountability help us respond with intention, while defensiveness and blame pull us into reactive patterns.

• 5 Simple Ways to Pause Each Day: Taking even a few intentional pauses each day strengthens our ability to respond during difficult moments. This short article shares five simple practices for building the habit of slowing down, noticing what’s happening internally, and choosing our response more deliberately.

THE PRACTICE

“Pausing” is a powerful tool to help us stay on the line of choice. 

After reading this article, choose a practice that you want to incorporate into each day next week. Notice how this practice helps you.