THE THREE HIDDEN KEYS TO GOOD DECISION MAKING FOR 2026
- Verla Wade
- Jan 24
- 5 min read
~ Verla Wade @ AskVerla©2026
Optimizing words. Elevating wisdom.
Introduction:
Good decisions don’t fail because we lack information—they fail because we overlook what’s operating beneath the surface. After publishing The Seven Keys to Good Decision Making for 2026, it became clear that three additional forces were quietly shaping outcomes behind the scenes. These hidden keys influence trust, leverage, and resilience in ways most people sense—but rarely identify. As 2026 accelerates and the Fire Horse energy amplifies momentum, clarity, and precision in decision-making are no longer optional; they are strategic advantages.
What you're about to discover demonstrates the unseen dynamics that differentiate masterful choices from reactive ones—and how to confidently apply these keys in both life and business. You may reference the initial blog post link here.
1. Hidden Key One: Trust, Loyalty, and Ambition - Executing with integrity across personal and professional relationships.
Good decisions give you the ability to remain trustworthy while executing loyally on tough assignments, without being deferential or sacrificing ambition. As you master this over time, your career arc will demonstrate your ability to play the long game, using both muscle and finesse. You feel ready, prepared, and skilled to master the job, career, or role you are fulfilling. And you understand how to work for and with the people you are serving as you maintain and build coherence and resonance.
2. Hidden Key Two: Leverage and Intended Consequences - Using influence strategically to shape outcomes and maintain advantage
Leverage is the ability to both endeavor to get and then attain what you want in important areas. It's a key element in good decision-making, and one that people often misunderstand (or even avoid) due to the levels of risk, responsibility, and rewards involved when you have leverage.
The right use of leverage is not about controlling others in a given situation; it's about managing the outcome to achieve desired results that benefit all parties and maximize impact. Using leverage when dealing with confusion can be particularly beneficial.
Nothing demonstrates your command of life and co-creating win/win agreements or transactions more than using leverage. It's about your ability to size up situations and then ask:
‘Where is my/our personal leverage?’ (and/or)
‘Where is my/our organization's leverage?’ and
‘How do I/we take that leverage and get what I/we want?’
Your actionable success can increase markedly when you operate with leverage, correctly analyzing the leverage you hold, and then employing it – inserting it into the situation at the right time. It's all about sizing up:
What your leverage is
What their leverage is
How you can use your leverage to greater effect than they can use their leverage
Once you have leverage, you must use it and intend to use it in multiple areas – using multiple levers of leverage. All the while avoiding situations as best you can where people have leverage over you (or your organization).
The risk of unattended consequences is lower when you have leverage, and it now becomes your North Star. It's not about what is going to happen, or who is in control today, or even who is going to be in control tomorrow. So long as you maintain your leverage and the dynamic guiding the relationship is driven by it, you can achieve symmetry in what you want.
There is no rush when you have the leverage - you can be fine with ‘waiting it out’. This is especially true for people who do not align with you. Obtaining your leverage in a variety of circumstances comes from emphasizing your strengths. Leverage gives you a sphere of influence and control in your life.
Leverage begets leverage!
3. Hidden Key Three: Decision Margin - Preserving flexibility, resilience, and clarity in complex decision making
Leave room for margin in your decision-making. You don't know what you don't know. And there's always new information right around the corner for those who have an open mind and a watchful eye!
Margin provides the space you need to adapt, change your mind, and move forward with new clarity and vision. A decision with margin is strategic, while a decision without margin is fragile. It's the margin you're building into the decision-making process that allows you to access resources you didn't have before and gives you breathing room when life happens. Because it always does!
🌟 Invitation: If these three steps remind you of anyone who’s observable on today's international geo-political scene, send me your answer, and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a complimentary 50-minute decision-making coaching session with me @ AskVerla. Submit your entry.
HOW I WORK & WHEN TO CONNECT WITH ME
Are you ready to move toward clarity, alignment, fulfillment, purpose, and joy in your life and work? I can help.
I am Verla Wade, a Life Elevation Strategist, intuitive healer, and entrepreneur since 1999. I combine metaphysical training, practical experience, and street-smart guidance to meet you exactly where you are—and help you step into your next level of growth and refinement.
Life moves fast, and our nervous systems often fall out of sync. I serve as a choreographer, inspiring you to clarify and harmonize — without telling you what to believe or do. Instead, you’ll remember what you already know and gain the clarity to act with purpose.
Let’s find out if I’m the right guide for your next phase of refinement—reach out and connect today.💞 Connect
2026 is off to a lively start, and the Fire Horse energy is already shaping opportunities. Gain insights for clarity and strategic action in the Grateful Endings for New Beginnings series - Part 1, Part 2, and in future WOW Publications.
And until we connect again….
Optimizing words. Elevating wisdom.
©AskVerla 2026
✍️ Thank you for your read. I am looking forward to hearing from you and welcome your comments and insights. Connect Here
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👉🏼 If you’re an Entrepreneur, Business Executive, Founder, or a devoted student of your own growth—and you feel the call to optimize success in the business of your life — I invite you to connect with me at AskVerla. Let’s meet in a complimentary Zoom conversation and discover what support looks like for your next phase. Begin your journey
About Verla
Verla is a Life Elevation Strategist with a background spanning human potential development, corporate leadership, and entrepreneurship. Beginning her career as a sales director and trainer, she transitioned into entrepreneurship in 1999 and founded The Living Light Foundation, an organization dedicated to education, healing, and personal transformation.
With over 25 years of training in the Western Mystery Tradition, Verla has a unique ability to translate timeless wisdom into practical, modern-day applications. Having worked and taught internationally, she supports individuals who are ready to step consciously into their next phase of growth.
Through AskVerla, she integrates life experience, business acumen, and heart-centered realism to help clients harmonize their personal, professional, and spiritual lives—empowering them to navigate life with clarity, purpose, and wisdom.
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