Decisions by Design | Edition 18

Bracing or Building. You Decide. 

EDITION | 18

People are carrying a lot right now.

Economic uncertainty.
AI reshaping roles faster than organizations can explain it.
Layoffs that feel abrupt or impersonal.
Teams stretched thin, managers stretched thinner.
 
A collective nervous system that has not fully exhaled in years.

So if you are feeling cautious, tired, or on edge, you are not failing.
You are human inside a very real moment.

And this is exactly where leadership is revealed.
Not in whether you can erase the pressure, but in how you meet it.
Because your posture becomes the room.

Every decision starts there.
In protection or in creation.
In bracing or in building.
In scarcity or in abundance.

I don't think about scarcity in financial terms, but as an internal posture.
It is the limiting belief that says: "There is not enough, so I need to move faster, hold tighter, and make decisions before I have the full picture."

And abundance is not pretending everything is fine.
It is the felt sense that there is enough here to meet this moment, and enough possibility to create what is next. Even when the constraints are real.

Same pressure. Different posture. Different result.

What bracing looks like in leadership:
Bracing often disguises itself as competence.
It looks like being “on it.”

But underneath, it creates a predictable pattern:
You narrow the lens.
You solve fast.
You protect the plan.
You avoid friction.
You withhold context until you are sure.

That can deliver results in the short run.
It also makes cultures brittle in the long run.

Because bracing makes truth expensive.

When leaders operate from a protective posture, people adapt.
They bring you less.
They ask fewer questions.
They stop offering early signals that would have saved you later.

Not because they do not care.
Because they do not want to pay the cost.

What building changes:
Building is not denial.
It is reality, met head-on, without handing the wheel to fear.

Leaders who are building do one essential thing first.
They widen the field before they narrow to a decision.

They name the constraint cleanly.
Then they name what is still true.

Here is the limit, and here is what is working.
Here is what we are capable of, and here is who needs to be in this with me.

Building restores perspective when pressure tries to shrink it.
It turns urgency into intelligence and keeps decisions honest, not just fast.
It gives people room to think, contribute, and take ownership.
It protects sustainability in seasons that would otherwise demand sacrifice.

This is not about "positivity".
It is about choosing a resourced lens so you can see options you would otherwise miss.

How to discern which mode you are in:
Hint: Read these like a mirror.

Scarcity signals:

• I feel rushed before the conversation begins.

• I avoid dissent because it slows things down.

• I hold context or decisions close until I am certain.

• I jump to solving before I fully understand.

• I decide to prevent something, not to create something.

Abundance signals:

• I name constraints without dramatizing them.
  
  

• I bring the right people in early.
  
  

• I stay curious longer than reactive.
  
  

• I choose decisions that grow capacity.
  
  

• I share power because I trust people with the work.
  

If you felt yourself tighten while reading one list, that is information.
Follow it gently and without judgment.

In closing.

Scarcity braces to protect what is left.
Abundance builds from what is still here.

You will feel that difference immediately in your decisions.

In what you fund.
In what you tolerate.
In how quickly the truth reaches you.
In whether your team can sustain the pace.

You do not need to live in abundance every hour of every day.
You only need to notice when scarcity is driving, and make a conscious choice.

Until next time,
With clarity and care,
Courtney

The Labyrinth: Ancient Technology for Modern Clarity.

Until a few years ago, the only Labyrinth I was familiar with was a movie starring the iconic David Bowie, a young Jennifer Connelly, a bunch of muppets, and a “Babe with power.”

Years later, as I became more spiritually tuned to contemplation as a gateway to higher consciousness, they began to pop up almost everywhere I went. 

My First Walk. 

I found myself standing alone at its threshold. Barefoot on the grass, the scent of fresh thyme and honeysuckle in the air, drawn inward by the green flash of what appeared to be a marble in the sun.

Thirty minutes later, I emerged with a level of inner clarity I would have paid hundreds of dollars for.

A simple walk. A powerful contemplation. A curiosity forever piqued. 

Ancient Pathways.

As it turns out, the history of the labyrinth stretches back thousands of years, intertwining with the spiritual and cultural traditions of numerous civilizations. These ancient geometric patterns have been discovered across various continents, including Europe, Africa, and the Americas, dating as far back as 4,000 years. 

Unlike mazes, which are designed to confuse with dead ends and multiple paths, labyrinths have a singular path that leads to the center and then back out again. Simple, yes. Profound, also yes. And occasionally annoying if you love control and prefer a shortcut (hello, it’s me). 

Walking the Spiral Circle.

The three stages of the labyrinth walk, crossing the threshold to embark on the inward journey, arriving at the center, and returning, are thought to correspond to awakening, transformation, and integration.

As you move toward the center, the mind races, and slowly you begin to let go of external distractions and false identities. Arriving at the center symbolizes coming into stillness, presence, and communion with one’s higher self or divine consciousness. The return path then becomes a process of integrating the wisdom gained from the center back into everyday life.

Walking the labyrinth can be a simple way to reconnect with your higher self, explore unresolved emotions, or find clarity in moments of confusion or transition. It is a space for alignment and recievership, where movement becomes meditation, and each step reflects a deepening connection to your hidden wisdom.

Ultimately, the labyrinth offers a blueprint for transformation. It reminds us that life’s journey is not about arriving at a destination, but rather about the process of moving inward, reaching a place of stillness and awareness, and then bringing that wisdom back into the outer world. 

Give it a try. 

When facing a major decision, I will often encourage my clients to seek out a labyrinth and embark on their own inner pilgrimage. If you can’t walk one, tracing one with your finger can have a similar effect. And you don’t have to walk it alone; bearing witness to others on their journey is a remarkable experience in and of its own. 

Until Next Time, 

With Clarity and Care, 

Courtney