| manaboutown |
07-25-2022 04:55 PM |
I am a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin who throughout his life sought self improvement. In particular I have used his pro and con lists with weighted entries when making big or important decisions.
"3. Making Decisions with a Smart Pro-and-Con List
Just when I thought I had discovered all of Franklin’s tools, I came across this letter, which arguably includes the earliest and wisest known description of a smart pro-con list for decision-making:
[M]y Way is, to divide half a Sheet of Paper by a Line into two Columns, writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then during three or four Days Consideration I put down under the different Heads short Hints of the different Motives that at different Times occur to me for or against the Measure. When I have thus got them all together in one View, I endeavor to estimate their respective Weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out: If I find a Reason pro equal to some two Reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two Reasons con equal to some three Reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the Balance lies; and if after a Day or two of farther Consideration nothing new that is of Importance occurs on either side, I come to a Determination accordingly. [Emphasis added.]"
“Tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.”
From: https://www.journalinghabit.com/jour...amin-franklin/ |
