The framework I use to make significant decisions revolves around being as thorough as possible in thinking out how each scenario could play out. The first important things I consider are the goals I have in mind and why this particular decision has implications for those goals — this helps me identify what needs to come out of this decision that will help me progress toward them. Once I understand what outcome would be most helpful for myself, I weigh that against how it will affect the other people or surroundings involved in that specific decision.
The ideal endpoint would be coming to a decision that both helps me move closer to achieving my goals without negatively affecting my surroundings.
However, knowing that this isn’t always possible, the methodology that I employ is most similar to the net impact framework (similar to cost-benefit) in which I lay out all the positive and negative impacts that could be a result of a decision I make. Next would be the most abstract part of my process, where I weigh these impacts against my own values, morals, and thoughts to make the most educated decision I can. During this final step, I try not to weigh my own interests more than any potential impacts to others.
