One of the top topics I get asked about most often is stress.
Let’s be clear: Stress isn’t your enemy. Unprocessed stress is.
When you experience stress—a tough conversation, impossible deadline, family tension—your body floods with cortisol and adrenaline. That’s not a weakness. That’s biology.
The problem? When you don’t complete the biological stress cycle, that energy stays trapped. You just move to the next thing, but you’re still carrying it.
That trapped stress costs you everything: clarity, peace, and presence.
Leaders with unmanaged stress see a 40% drop in employee trust and performance. But the deeper cost is personal—your relationships, your joy, your vitality.
The most effective and efficient solution? Move your body with an elevated heart rate for 20–60 minutes. Not journaling. Not meditating. Movement.
It’s the fastest, most effective way to metabolize stress hormones and reset your nervous system. (Read Burnout by Emily & Amelia Nagoski if you want the science.)
So this week, when you feel stressed—don’t push through. Take a walking meeting. Run the stairs. Dance in your kitchen. Breathe more slowly and deeply.
Complete the stress cycle. Recalibrate your capacity.
You cannot lead well if you’re running on fumes. But when you train your body to recover, you lead from wholeness—not survival.
PS. I talked about sustainable leadership (not hustle culture) on a recent podcast.
