“Stop crowdsourcing your decisions; some things only you can judge without others’ input.”
Ginny Clarke | To a lot of people, all the time
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A friend called me last week, completely twisted up about whether to leave her VP role at a major bank to join an early-stage fintech company. The new job would mean a pay cut, but would include equity and a sense of purpose, something she admitted had been missing for years.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night,” she told me. “I’ve talked to a bunch of people about it, and now I'm even more confused. Am I crazy to leave the security, or to stay where I’m not fulfilled?”
Most of you have asked someone else to help make a decision, but other people aren’t you. They don’t have your values, your responsibilities, or your vision. Torn by a life-altering career dilemma, my friend had become paralyzed by everyone else's projected advice.
No wonder she felt more lost.
When you haven’t nurtured your own inner compass, it becomes far too easy to forfeit your power without realizing it. These resources won’t tell you exactly which path to follow, but they may help you hear your own voice again.
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💜 The Heart
Tools to support your conscious leadership practice.
🔄 Your brain has a reset button for negative thoughts, but you've only got two seconds to hit it. [Article]
Sometimes a single unhelpful thought can upset your whole morning. What if you could prevent that? This article breaks down “choice points,” the brief window before your brain fully latches onto a negative loop. You’ve got about two seconds to catch it. It might not sound groundbreaking, but learning how to recognize and redirect that moment is a small, repeatable way to strengthen your emotional intuition. I’m always game to test out tools like this and see what sticks. In my experience, the simplest habits can have the greatest payoff.
🔒 Kerry Washington doesn’t say yes to everything [Article + Video]
If you’re someone who’s always saying yes to the extra ask or the thing you’re “perfectly capable of doing,” this is for you. In this short feature, Kerry Washington reflects on the discipline it takes to say no and avoid feeling guilty about it. She shares how motherhood reshaped her priorities, how FOMO clouds judgment, and how trusting her gut became a kind of strategy. Especially for women conditioned to overperform and overextend, it’s important to remember that just because you can do it all doesn’t mean you should. If you like this, her Women In Film speech about building teams, backing others’ dreams, and showing up purposefully is worth a watch, too.
🧩 Why change feels so hard [Podcast]
You know what you want to change, so what’s holding you back? I had the chance to meet Brené Brown at the ACHE conference last month. (Side note: She called me a badass, and I took that as confirmation that we got each other. 😉) In this two-part Dare to Lead podcast, she and Harvard psychologist Lisa Lahey explore the gap between intentions and actions, and why you so often resist the very things you badly want. They look at how unconscious attachments make you feel safe but keep you stuck. The conversation highlights how transformation can really only begin when you identify the invisible commitments blocking your growth.
🧠 The Matter
Leadership trends that caught my attention.
💬 When everyone has opinions, here’s how great leaders decide [Article + Videos]
The burden of high-consequence decisions takes center stage in this compelling conversation from the Aspen Ideas Festival. Journalist Katie Couric moderates a panel with Darren Walker (Ford Foundation), Indra Nooyi (former PepsiCo CEO), and Mitch Landrieu (former New Orleans mayor), who speak candidly about what it takes to lead with integrity under pressure. Walker calls out how today’s leaders are often slotted in the false binary of hero vs. villain. Nooyi urges executives to prioritize long-term service over short-term wins. Landrieu suggests that leading is about taking responsibility even when the problem isn’t your fault. Together, they articulate leadership philosophies where principles aren’t sacrificed for outcomes.
🗝️ The freedom to respond amid unyielding constraints [Video]
When you're surrounded by questions with nowhere to turn, Viktor Frankl's perspective creates unexpected possibilities. In this interview, seemingly from the 70s or 80s, the Holocaust survivor and author of “Man’s Search for Meaning” discusses how you still have the freedom to choose how you handle the hardest moments. He defines despair as “suffering without meaning,” and challenges you to stay connected to your purpose when nothing feels certain. Even though his life took place under extraordinary circumstances, his insight into personal agency and responsibility remains profoundly relevant to your personal journeys through uncertainty.
🧃 How you absorb expectations without noticing [Article]
This one isn’t about leadership directly; it’s about barre classes, Instagram, kale salads, and how these rituals shape who you think you should be. Jia Tolentino, a sharp social commentator, explores how the drive to self-improve can seep into every corner of your lives: how you work, eat, move, rest, and show up in the world. “Optimizing” is a term borrowed from economics, meaning always doing more, faster, better. If you’ve ever paused mid-routine and wondered, “Is this even what I want?”, this essay might resonate. Tolentino’s body of work is worth checking out, and this piece, in particular, might help you notice where you’ve been moving too fast without checking in with yourself.
🎯 Final Thoughts
There’s a difference between seeking support and surrendering your autonomy. You already have what you need; you might just need a little less noise to hear it. I hope something here helps you tune back in.
Till next time.
Sending love and light,
Ginny