Personal Balance-Sheet

The personal balance-sheet technique is actually a variety of Listing Pros and Cons (qv). Originally intended for use in the presence of some person like a therapist, to assist individuals increase their commitment to private decisions (such as giving up smoking), which are undoubtedly wanted, but are nonetheless tricky to uphold.

Research evidence exists to support the belief that when you make a reasoned, public and recorded, statement of why you believe that a particular course of action is correct for you, it becomes harder for you to go back on it later.

	Expected gains				Expected losses
	For you		For others		For you		For others
	Tangible	Subjective	Tangible	Subjective	Tangible	Subjective	Tangible	Subjective
Option 1
Option 2
Etc.

The sheet is uncomplicated (see chart above) listing gains vs. losses for yourself and others, in tangible form (possessions, money, health, etc.) and subjective form (approval, confidence, self-image, reputation, etc.) As the contents of the cell would be lists of items, in reality the cells would need to be larger.

Making the final decision regarding which Option would be the best for you, would be a matter of judgement rather than calculation.

The balance sheet can be personalised by excluding the counsellor but still having a set of useful headings for evaluating sets of options for decisions of a personal nature.

[Source: www.mycoted.com]

PERSONAL BALANCE-SHEET