You know how to make lists of pros and cons for decisions, but sometimes they are apples and oranges. Here are some more things you can try. For each option you are choosing between, answer the following:
- What’s the worst that could happen? Seriously. How would you cope? Is there anything you could do differently from the start to mitigate the problems while still making the same decision? [This is also a good approach for dealing with non-decision situations you are worried about.]
- What might you regret about not choosing this option?
- What might be the long-term benefits of choosing this option – one, five, ten years out?
- Put 1, 2, and 3 together: If I choose this option, the risk is X, but I could gain Y, and if I do not choose this option I would regret Z. Try to be concise but get at the heart of it; once you’ve made a sentence for all the options you can use them to help you compare.
- Put yourself in the future, after the dust has settled. Explain to someone why you chose this option (and if this option is to do nothing, imagine it has come out that you came close to acting and you are explaining why you did not). Be brief, but write various versions. Do they feel true to you? Do they rely on something happening that hasn’t yet in order to feel true?