“When each is thus considered separately and comparatively, and the whole lies before me, I think I judge better and less likely to make a rash step.”

We all wrestle with difficult decisions in our lives but did you know one of the most famous men in our country's history laid the groundwork for effective decision making in the 18th century?

In a letter to Joseph Priestly (the English scientist who discovered oxygen), Benjamin Franklin commented about complex decision that Priestly was faced with. Franklin wrote that "the problem of deciding inexplicable situations is that all reasons pro and con are not present to the mind at the same time." As a result our minds are temporarily swayed back and forth depending on which aspect of the decision seems to be most important at the time.

To solve this little conundrum of human nature, Franklin would divide a sheet of paper into two columns "pro" and "con". Then over the next several days he would write in each column the positives and the negatives of the decision as they occurred to him in order to more carefully evaluate the devision.

The best part of Franklin's system is that it works because our minds can act like pendulums when face with complex decisions!