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Mindfulness is said to be one of the most effective strategies to improve the overall quality of life since it benefits all elements of health. There is a higher probability that life satisfaction and happiness will improve if an individual begins to embrace mindful living.
In this podcast, Amy McCae talks about how mindfulness and emotional intelligence are co-related and can affect our self-reflection. She further elaborates on the ways to implement mindfulness in the work environment.
Key Takeaways
- Naming an emotion deactivates the amygdala. Amy draws on affect-labeling neuroscience: the moment you label what you're feeling, you pull activity back into the prefrontal cortex — out of fight-or-flight and into conscious decision-making. That's the biological basis for why mindfulness breeds emotional intelligence.
- "Practice the pause" is the whole technique. Before the angry text, before the meeting reply, before the snap decision — one breath creates the gap where an emotionally intelligent choice becomes possible. Around 80% of reactions, she notes, are triggered rather than considered.
- CEOs often lack self-awareness the most. Amy is blunt that leadership is frequently the weakest link on EI, and that wellness programs rolled out to staff without leaders doing the work themselves collapse. Training must start at the top.
- Eight traits of the mindful leader. From her Mindful Schools training: sensitivity, solidity, voice, authenticity, disclosure, non-identification, curiosity, and acknowledging success. Embody a few deliberately rather than performing all eight.
- Workplace mindfulness looks ordinary. Not meditation cushions — it's how meetings open, how feedback is given, how schedules get changed. Start meetings by naming a feeling or stating an intention.
- Mindfulness is the burnout early-warning system. When someone notices their sleep slipping or eating changing, they can intervene before the crash. The prevention case, not just the calm case.
- Start with two minutes, once a day. Amy's only prescription for listeners: two minutes of breath work, one session daily. Don't over-engineer it; notice how you feel before, during, and after.
In Amy's Words
On the neuroscience of the pause
When you begin to name what you're feeling — we call it mindful emotions — you start to deactivate your amygdala, which allows you access to your prefrontal cortex. That's where all those executive-thinking attributes come from. It gets you out of fight, flight, or freeze and into intuitive, creative, conscious decision-making.
80% of the time when we respond to something, it's an emotional reaction. We're triggered. If you take that pause, you gain insight — what am I really feeling, what am I thinking, how can I make this situation better?
On workplace practice and leadership
I've seen corporations really mess up and try to give teams something they think they need and the leadership not be in on it. A lot of times the higher-up the CEOs are, the ones lacking self-awareness and emotional intelligence the most — and they refuse to look at it. Leadership has to get on board first.
You could have productivity met and people happy and healthy. You'll have resilience and you won't lose money. But you have to be the change. You have to hold space for it, ask a lot of questions, and be willing to look at what's really going on — then actually do something about it.
On what mindfulness at work actually looks like
Mindfulness at work isn't going to look like sitting cross-legged. It looks like more conscious decisions — how you lead meetings, how you talk to coworkers, how you change the schedule. Before a meeting, set some intentions, say some gratitude, ask people to name what they're feeling.
In mindfulness we say "invite it in for tea." If I'm angry, I ask — why am I angry, what am I thinking about, what can I do about it? That space you create between thoughts is where totally different decisions get made.
On resilience and burnout
Mindfulness helps you become resilient because you have more awareness, so you make different choices. When I notice I'm not sleeping well or not eating well, I know I need a break. That's the ability to prevent burnout and recover — not just push and push until you crash.
About the Speaker
Having found relief through fitness, nutrition and meditation after struggling with health issues at a very young age, Amy McCae now empowers CEO’s and their teams to find more time for fun and family without costing productivity in business.
She helps them reduce stress and burnout and to live happier and healthier lives. Amy holds over 16 certifications related to mind-body wellness and is passionate about healing and helping. She further offers training, coaching, and intuitive healing.
Show Notes
(07:30) What comes to mind when you hear the terms mindfulness and emotional intelligence? Do you think there is any interconnection between the two?
(09:54) Would you say mindfulness breeds emotional intelligence?
(11:37) In today's world, how would you say EI benefits us?
(13:01) They say there are certain elements that make EI. What do you think are the various elements of EI?
(15:15) Where do you reckon we need emotional intelligence the most?
(16:25) Ho much do we need to practice EI in the workplace?
(19:28) Now let us talk a little about mindfulness, so what does mindfulness at work mean?
(20:57) How to implement mindfulness in the workplace?
(23:51) It is said that mindfulness and resilience come together. So how much truth lies in that statement? Does the former help develop the latter?
(25:07) What is your opinion on mindful leadership?
(25:50) Just like every good thing has certain shortcomings, do you think there are any pitfalls of EI and mindfulness?
(27:02) Last but not least, would you like to give us and our listeners any valuable suggestions?
