Weigh Your Pros and Cons, Don't Just Count Them

A classic pros-and-cons list treats every item as equal — three reasons to stay outweigh two reasons to leave, on paper. But one of those two reasons might be "I dread going to work every morning," which outweighs all three pros combined. Counting items hides what actually matters; weighing them reveals it.

Try Benjamin Franklin's version: write both columns, then cross out pairs of roughly equal weight from each side, one at a time, until only the heaviest points remain. Whatever survives the crossing-out is your real answer.