Back in 2011 or 2012, during a yoga class or perhaps while meditating, I created a pithy phrase that summed up my instructions for a conscious, fulfilling life at the time. Channeling a consumer packaged goods marketer’s brain, I came up with “Talk less, listen more. Focus on your breathing. Express gratitude. Repeat,” similar to the words we have all seen countless times on shampoo bottles: lather, rinse, repeat. (I’m curious — did including “repeat” to that phrase actually increase sales? Does anyone shampoo and rinse their hair twice?)

At the time, I thought my “instructions” had an authentic feel and I shared them on my Facebook page and a few other social media vehicles. Mulling over the words today, I realize they fall short in several respects with regard to my current thinking, but more on that in a moment. For now, let’s break down the individual elements of these instructions:

Talk Less, Listen More

The more I study effective leadership, the more I hear about the importance of listening. I mean really listening — putting away your smartphone in meetings, acknowledging that you understand someone by repeating their words back to them and focusing not only on a speaker’s words but also their intonation, emotionality and body language.

Based on my 20-plus year career as an investment banker and nearly eight years as an executive coach, work teams are more amenable to adopting a course of action if the team members feel they have had a voice in the decision. And, yes, I have found that listening works very well with your kids too!

Focus On Your Breathing

For years, yogis and meditators of every stripe have preached the power of concentration on breathing as a means of helping to induce and maintain a meditative state. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Navy SEALS use a four-part breathing sequence called “Box Breathing” to calm and center themselves during training and on missions. Tony Robbins even has a “breath coach,” who authored the book Just Breathe.