Making big decisions can be challenging. If you’re like many people, creating a list of pros and cons is one of your tried-and-true ways to reach a conclusion.
The thing is, this practice might not be serving you as well as you think. That’s right — a pros and cons list probably isn’t helping you make the best decisions after all.
Having a little trouble believing this to be true? Here’s why it’s time to ditch this practice once and for all.
Three Reasons a Pros and Cons List Doesn’t Work
Entries Hold the Same Weight
When making a pros and cons list, you traditionally go with the route that has the most entries — i.e., the decision is a ‘yes’ if there are 10 pros and eight cons. However, all the factors on your list don’t hold equal importance.
For example, if a pro for staying at your current job is free snacks in the breakroom, but a con is you don’t get employer-sponsored health insurance coverage, these two things are very unequal. This means you could easily end up making the wrong choice on a decision that hugely impacts your life.
The Big Picture Isn’t Considered
Since a pros and cons list is purely a numbers game, you’re not thinking about how the decision will affect your life. Clearly, this is flawed because this should be at the top of your mind.
Step aside from your list for a second and think of it logically. Do you want to base a big decision on numbers or a logical thought process that allows you to truly envision the decision playing out in real life?
Pros Are Often Magnified
If you’re being totally honest with yourself, you probably know deep down that your pros and cons lists can be a bit biased. Since these lists are easy to manipulate toward the decision you want, it’s not hard to give pros extra weight.
For example, you might add something to the pros list that really isn’t that great — i.e., your existing job offers free coffee. This allows the pros list to become unfairly longer, so you can stick with the more comfortable decision, but not necessarily better.
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