A new habit I've tested for 7 months 🌟

One word that changes your mood at work instantly.

19,000+ reading on LinkedIn

Read time: 4min

“Happiness: It’s an inside job.” - Jessica Weiss

Hi,

How was last week?

You open your email in the morning and say to yourself:

"Ugh..." 😩

Sound familiar?

Here's what I share with my clients (and learned the hard way myself):

You notice what you focus on.

I rarely talk about negative things here - but that doesn't mean my corporate life (or building my business now) has been all roses.

For me, it's not about what happens, but how you deal with it.

Nothing is life is a straight line.

Happiness and productivity are deeply linked - and both are anything but straight lines.

Why share this?

Because today, we're diving into the final area of The Good Busy wheel - happiness at work.

the why

You can't fully control what happens at work - but you can influence how you experience it.

It's backed by science:

According to Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman in Words Can Change Your Brain:

"A single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress."

Just like good nutrition influences your physical health, the right "mental nutrition" influences your emotional health.

And that "nutrition" starts with words.

What you say, your brain believes - and that belief ripples into your actions and emotions.

I've lived it myself - going from "Kate, you're so negative" in my 20s, to "Kate, how are you so positive?" today.

It all started with one shift: being intentional with my words.

the how

How do you start?

One word: "Wow."

If you've been reading my newsletter for a while, you know: I'm a huge TED Talk fan.

Last year, Artem Rodichev, TEDx Eleftheria Square founder in Cyprus, recommended a talk: The Idiot's Happiness by Slava Polunin (3M+ views).

Here's the essence:

• Children are happy because they say "wow" every day.

• Adults? We forget how.

I thought of my 5.5-year-old niece and 4-year-old nephew. They get excited dozens of times a day - about seashells, bugs, even nothing.

I dreamed for years about living close to the beach. Now I do - but like anything, when you get used to it, you start taking it for granted.

So 7 months ago, I started saying "Wow" out loud:

When I walk at the beach - Wow.

When I see the sea driving - Wow.

When I swim and see these colors - Wow.

Picture I took on my walk Saturday.

Each "Wow" creates a micro-moment of joy. And when micro-moments of joy compound, that's happiness.

Simple? Yes.

Effective? Absolutely.

I believe in simple, powerful solutions.

That's why I'm piloting The Good Busy Reset program - uncomplicated solutions, real results. No new apps. No AI. No one-size-fits-all systems.

We start Wednesday, April 30.

Only 10 leaders total - it will feel almost personal.

Only 2 slots left.

Final call to reset and build work-life you don't need to escape from. (And it's a super deal I won't offer again.)

👉 Apply here!

Here's what leaders say about my workshops:

your play of the week

Say "Wow" once a day 🤩

This week:

• Notice just one thing a day that makes you go "Wow."

• Say it out loud - just like a child would.

• Stick to it for 7 days and watch what happens.

(If you snap a picture of what made you go "Wow", send it over - I'd love to see it!)

result

You'll start focusing on what fuels your energy, motivation, and joy. And when you master your mind, you master your time - and your results.

More joy. More intentional focus. Better work. Happier life.

Helping 50,000+ leaders on LinkedIn free up time from unnecessary work.

If you find The Good Busy Newsletter useful, let's grow our community on Substack: subscribe now, forward it to a friend or colleague.

I know productivity - not illustrations. Stickman figures by Zdenek Sasek.

Enjoy getting good busy!

See you next Monday,

Kate

PS: Final Call: The Good Busy Reset!

If you found The Good Busy Wheel exercise useful, imagine the transformation when I guide you through the full reset.

We start Wednesday, April 30 with 8 amazing leaders.

Only 2 slots left - today’s the last chance!

👉 Apply here - Free up 8+ hours/week from unnecessary work and reset your calendar, focus, and energy.

(No risk - full money-back guarantee if it’s not valuable for you.)

PPS: You'll get the same results for a fraction of the cost of working with me 1:1.