Ben Franklin famously gave the advice of writing down pros and cons in two opposing columns, making an algebraic-like assessment, and then simply rendering the correct decision. The best choice of the two would then be obvious.

Although that’s not bad counsel in certain narrow circumstances, it fails miserably as an effective approach to decision making when faced with most of life’s more nuanced choices. (Like when solutions are sought for most of those problems we actually have.)

A fundamental shortcoming with simply listing pros and cons is that most of our real life decisions are not binary. Thinking about them that way is rather limiting. Instead, superior outcomes result from a deeper understanding – often including a creative reframing of the core problem itself.

Rather than being twofold, myriad alternatives often become apparent upon further reflection on the nature of the challenge itself. Sometimes this leads us to none of the above. Schrödinger could have easily provided his cat with alternatives besides dead or alive. It would simply have required more boxes to open.

Yet even while thinking inside the box, we still enjoy at least three dimensions to consider – or four, if one includes time. And understanding the role of time as a limiting resource is often at the root of resolving apparent dilemmas.

After all, without time constraints, we would have the luxury of exploring more paths – including all those roads less taken. Time heals not only cuts and scrapes, but also the intensity of our pains, our festering regrets, and the foolishly misplaced priorities of our youth. As we age, we begin to understand time as the most effective of therapies; the one with no agenda to hide.

Ultimately, at some point in the future our present becomes our past. And as it unfolds, much we now ache to know becomes more fully revealed.

So when you face what appears to be a simple thumbs up or thumbs down choice, pause for a moment. Consider whether dead or alive represents the full range of outcomes. Minimizing life’s regrets over poor choices often requires peeking behind door numbers three, four, five …