My Dog’s a Cow

Hi Reader,

Welcome to Your Dose of Mana — a quick, weekly note with:​
1 real story
1 leadership insight
1 practical takeaway

This Week’s Story: My Dog’s a Cow​
When it rains, my dog Reed turns into a cow. We head out the door for a walk, hit the street, and he stops.

Won’t move.

Just stands there like a cow.

Because it’s raining.

Some guide dog he would have made. I’m convinced it didn’t rain during all four stages of his guide training.

But when we hike off-leash, the weather doesn’t matter. He’s more distracted by the scents and the scenery. His nose and his brain are activated in different ways than when we are on our usual route in the neighborhood.

Recently, I’d been kicking around a few tough issues in my head with no progress. No new angles. Just… stuck.

So, we jumped in the car and went for a hike. Somewhere between the parking lot and the lookout, the answer surfaced. See, I was trying to push for a solution instead of creating space for one to appear. When I got back to my desk, I was not only refreshed from my time outside in the woods, but I was also energized to execute on the solution that my brain had formulated once I allowed it to relax.

Leadership Insight​
Clarity rarely shows up under pressure; it shows up in space.​
​We think more effort = better answers. Often, it’s the opposite. When you step away—walk, drive, shower, stare out a window—your brain connects dots you can’t brute-force together. Leaders who intentionally build “white space” make sharper decisions and reduce conflict faster.

Practical Takeaway​
Try a 10–10–10 this week:
→ 10 minutes of white space daily (walk, stretch, no phone).
→ 10 words to reframe a stuck conversation: “What’s one step I can take to move this forward?”
​→ 10% less meeting time—end early and use the margin to think.

Bonus: When you feel stuck, pause and take 10 deep breaths. Your breathing pattern can change everything. Think about it. With every emotion you experience, you tend to breathe differently. So if you breathe differently, you can change your emotional state. Hmmmm.

Want to know how to leverage your strengths and hack your struggles?

Hit reply and I’ll send you an MPO talent assessment so you can discover your strengths and struggles, then will do a complimentary debrief with on what to do with the information.

Even though this is a “mass email” I mean it when I say—let me know what you are up to. Reply, book a Zoom, pick up the phone. I’d love to catch up.

Thanks for letting me show up in your inbox.
We’ll do this again next Thursday.

More joy. Less friction. Always.
​

—Amy