Decisions That Matter

Adrienne Adhami - Wellness Coach and Author

Adrienne is a wellness coach and author working at the intersection of wellness, culture and commerce. She is an author, and co-host of the Modern Wellness Podcast and co-founder of Part Two Agency. She has collaborated with global brands including Google, Logitech and Spotify. Her insights have been featured in British Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and The Telegraph.

Q: What's the main lesson you' d like readers to take away from your book Decisions That Matter: How to Make Decisions in A World of Endless Choice.

The modern world rewards speed: quick responses, instant feedback, constant output. But that pace often pushes us into rushed, automatic decision-making. We say yes too quickly, too often, without fully considering the true cost of those choices. When it comes to career development, clarity matters more than momentum. You don’t need a rigid master plan, but you do need a direction. Once you know what you’re working towards, decision making becomes easier. You can start to say no more confidently, and choose opportunities that will move you closer to the life and career you want.

Q: What’s one mindset shift that can help people – and teams make good decisions that matter?

One of the most powerful mindset shifts is recognising FOBO, the fear of a better option, for what it is: a trap. When you’re constantly comparing your life, your career, and your choices to everyone else’s, you start to doubt decisions that might actually be right for you. You become less satisfied, more hesitant, and more likely to stay stuck in indecision. The shift is moving from “What if something better exists?” to “Is this right for me, right now?” That’s where real clarity comes from. For teams, good decision-making is about structure, not speed. Teams need space for collective discussion, diverse perspectives, and healthy challenge. But after that, responsibility has to be clear. The most effective teams gather insight together, then appoint ONE person to own the final decision and action it.

Q: Do you see the rise of side hustles as complementary to work, or as a sign that something fundamental is changing in how we think about careers and fulfilment?

It really depends on the person and the kind of work they do. For some, a side hustle can be genuinely complementary, it expands their network, builds new skills and even makes them more energised and effective in their main role. For others, it can become a time-intensive distraction. The day job starts to feel purely transactional, it’s something you endure to fund the “real” work happening elsewhere. That shift in mindset can lead to disengagement, burnout, and resentment. But something deeper is happening too. We’ve moved from linear careers to portfolio lives. This isn't a passing trend, it’s a structural change in how people think about work, identity, fulfilment, and security. People no longer want to place their entire identity in a single role or employer. They’re building an ecosystem around themselves and their work.

Q: There’s a tension between the image of being a founder and the reality of hard work. For founders, how does this duality affect our sense of identity?

The founder rhetoric sells freedom, autonomy, and power. But the lived reality is often financial uncertainty, emotional fatigue and a huge amount of invisible labour. Psychologically, this can be deeply destabilising. People start asking, “Why is this so hard for me when everyone else seems to be killing it?” Especially when social media amplifies success over the day to day struggle. When your identity becomes too tightly tied to your work, every setback feels personal. Every slow month feels like failure. That’s why maintaining a sense of self beyond your role isn’t just healthy, it’s essential!

Q: Social media is addictive by design and often positions success through vanity metrics. How does prolonged scrolling impact our self-perception, especially in professional contexts?

Prolonged scrolling subtly distorts our internal benchmarks, so you start to feel behind when you’re not. In a professional context, it breeds imposter syndrome and comparison anxiety. People stop asking, “Am I doing meaningful work?” and start asking, “Does this look impressive?” Put simply, it’s exhausting and not productive.

Q: What do you predict in terms of the impact on social media and mental wellbeing. How do you think AI and deep fakes are changing what we see online (real vs fake) as a society (which then impacts our work)

We’re entering an era where seeing is no longer believing. AI-generated content, deep fakes, and hyper-curated personas will accelerate distrust. The psychological cost is a growing sense of doubt. What’s real? Who’s credible? Who can I trust? The opportunity, though, is that discernment will become a key skill. People will value transparency, nuance and depth more. We’ll likely see a cultural shift away from polished perfection towards credibility, context, and realness.

Q: We want to be part of workplaces that feel aligned with our values. How can companies create spaces that accommodate this? Is it too wishy–washy in your opinion?

It’s only wishy-washy if it’s badly executed. People don’t need free pastries and value statements. They need consistency between what companies say and how they behave. Alignment shows up in workload expectations, flexibility, psychological safety, leadership behaviour and how people are treated in real life, not just in a list of policies. Companies that genuinely live their values attract stronger talent, retain their best people, and build reputations that travel fast across the industry.

Q: As we look ahead to the next decade, what do you think will be the biggest challenge and opportunity for individuals in terms of identity, purpose, and work.

The biggest challenge will be the pressure to constantly evolve, reinvent and perform relevance. That level of psychological demand isn’t sustainable and it’s not actually necessary to build meaningful, long-term work. The biggest opportunity, especially in a digital-first world, will belong to people who can nurture genuine relationships. Trust, credibility, and human connection can’t be automated. People still want to work with other people. As technology accelerates, the value of being with others will only increase.