How to Think Clearly and Make Better Decisions Under Pressure — Edward Howard | Ep 138

What if you practiced calm for decades, but still discovered that pressure could take over when you needed clarity most?

In this episode, Edward Howard, author of One Breath Leadership, shares what he learned from combining more than 30 years of Zen practice with over 20 years in high-pressure international banking environments. He explains why stress can push us into automatic reactions and introduces the One Breath method—a short reset built around mind, breath, and attention.

We explore the physiology behind breathing under stress, the difference between dualistic, non-dual, and transcendent states of mind, why Edward sometimes talks about “mindlessness” instead of mindfulness, and how leaders can create enough space to respond rather than simply react.

If you’re making decisions under pressure, carrying persistent mental overload, or trying to perform at a high level without sacrificing everything around you, this conversation offers a practical way to find more clarity in the moment.

Join the Wisdom Journey newsletter

Get more practical lessons, experiments, and insights from conversations about building, leadership, and performing better without losing yourself in the process.

https://wisdom.beehiiv.com/

Connect with Guest

Website: https://www.onebreathleadership.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-howard-a86aa823/

Book: https://www.onebreathleadership.com/book

Chapters

00:00 When Decades of Zen Meet High-Pressure Leadership

00:43 Why Meditation Didn’t Always Translate Under Pressure

02:57 Why the Method Uses Just One Breath

05:26 Making Meditation Practical for Busy Leaders

07:29 What Stress Does to the Way We Breathe

09:16 Fight-or-Flight Breathing and the Nervous System

11:49 Practicing the One Breath Method

14:06 Creating Space Between Pressure and Reaction

15:06 Mind, Breath, and Attention

15:28 The Three States of Mind

19:27 Why Edward Talks About “Mindlessness”

21:27 Making Better Decisions During Lingering Stress

25:41 When High Performance Is Actually Disguised Dysfunction

28:24 The Beliefs That Keep Leaders Stuck in Unsustainable Performance

30:38 One Breath Leadership: The Book

31:18 Where to Find Edward Howard and One Breath Leadership

32:20 Closing Thoughts and Wisdom Journey Newsletter

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(138)

Writing a Book That Builds Authority, Clients, and Speaking Opportunities — Kristin Clark | Ep 137

Being an expert doesn’t automatically mean you have a great book. The strongest books start with a clear idea, a specific reader, and an understanding of what you want the book to accomplish after som...

27 Sep 28min

How to Scale Paid Ads Without Wasting Your Marketing Budget — Matthew Slaymaker | Ep 136

Paid advertising can grow a strong business, but it can also expose everything that was already broken. A weak offer, poor tracking, low conversion rates, bad creative, or the wrong business economics...

27 Sep 34min

How to Stay Disciplined When Business Gets Hard — Mike Barefoot | Ep 135

Building a business for 15 years takes more than a good idea. It requires discipline when things slow down, relationships that survive beyond individual transactions, and the willingness to keep showi...

24 Sep 40min

Local SEO and the New Rules of Getting Found Online — Kyle Bailey | Ep 134

For a local business, getting found online is only half the job. Your website, SEO, and content still have to convince a homeowner that you understand their problem and are the right person to solve i...

24 Sep 33min

How to Make B2B Paid Media Work With a Complex Sales Cycle — Dominick DeJoy | Ep 133

Paid media gets much harder when a customer doesn’t click an ad and buy five minutes later. In B2B, a deal might take months or even a year, involve several decision-makers, and pass through multiple ...

24 Sep 32min

How to Sell Without Pressure, Manipulation, or Sleazy Tactics — Marc Von Musser | Ep 132

Most entrepreneurs know they need to sell, but many hate the way selling feels. Pressure, scripts, manipulation, fear of rejection, and the constant need to “close” can make sales feel completely disc...

24 Sep 55min

Self-Doubt, Limiting Beliefs, and the Stories Running Your Life — Stan Lewis | Ep 131

You can know what to do, have the right information, and still find yourself hesitating when it’s time to charge more, become more visible, take a risk, or step into a bigger version of yourself. Some...

24 Sep 31min