I am leading this meeting, and I can't afford waves of panic and frustration ruling my thinking.

While my team ponders something irrelevant, I mute myself and go for an emergency 60-second meditation session.

1. Look at the horizon for 30 seconds.

TIP: This is a reliable technique to broaden your perspective and calm the nervous system. Get out of the stress-oriented tunnel vision and allow your eyes to register what is happening on the periphery or in the distance. Instantly calming.

2. Assess my inner state.

Ok, I very rarely get irritated during my meetings.

So, what's happening? Aha, my daughter got sick and woke me up at 5:40 am. I am missing at least an hour of sleep, and my immune system might be fighting a cold.

So, I acknowledge a part of me that is tired, send her some compassion, and promise a nap after the meeting is done.

TIP: Recognizing our feelings, allowing them, and giving some nurturing presence is the fastest way to work through challenging emotions.

Let's talk about mantras for a second, specifically about mantras given to us by other people.

Some years ago, when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I would go out for lunch with one of my friends, a brilliant woman who also worked in biotech. Once, she shared that she went to see an Ayurvedic healer.

"I loved it," she continued, "but it is hard now to continue practicing on my own." Intrigued, I asked her what she was doing.