To address increasingly complex sustainability challenges, decision-makers must move beyond the dominant business case type of cognitive frame, which often fails to capture the multidimensional nature of sustainability. Learning to rebalance the focus of this frame towards the other sustainability dimensions (i.e. social and environmental) is critical for fostering sustainable outcomes. Using a mixed-methods approach (i.e. interviews, observations, ethnography, and autoethnography), we examine the attentional processes involved in rebalancing cognitive frames for sustainability. Drawing on the embodied experience of rowing, where individuals navigate interdependent environmental, social, and performance demands, we uncover how embodied cognition can inform complex cognitive framing. Our findings reveal four key processes for rebalancing attention: (1) enrichment through immersive engagement, (2) simplification via reliance on embodied perception and attentional structures, (3) creation and embodiment of an integrative focus and (4) valuation of social and environmental goals. These insights offer actionable implications for managerial education, advancing cognitive and embodied approaches to sustainable decision-making.
