Wow, what a great thread! I'll add my two cents, although I'm not sure that I'll say anything that hasn't already been said.
First of all, I have to say that regardless of how we go about making decisions, it is one hell of a lot easier to make them without drugs or alcohol clouding the picture!!!
I was in AA for several years and did not find that program to be helpful to me when it came to decision making, so I came up with my own method. It wasn't until I left AA and looked into SMART Recovery that I realized that "my own method" was basically the same one SMART suggests: a cost benefit analysis in which both pros and cons are broken down by whether the cost or benefit is long term or short term. I've found that the last bit--looking at the long vs. short term impact of decisions--is really critical.
Another thing I do, which others have mentioned, is to pretend I've made a particular decision and then live with it in my head for a while to gauge my emotional reaction. There have been times, several times, in fact, when I discovered that a good decision "on paper" was totally unworkable in my heart.
And then...here's the tough thing for me...sometimes things don't work out the way I'd hoped. I'll make a decision based on faulty information or wrong assumptions. Or I'll make a decision that is reasonable at the time, then life will go in another direction. When that happens I have a hell of a time being kind to myself; I absolutely hate being "wrong". I will beat myself up for it terribly, much worse than any outsider or onlooker ever would. Countering those irrational, negative thoughts is SOOOOOO tough for me. I find SMART's ABC tool helpful, but sometimes I just have to feel like crap for awhile and process my feelings. I guess one benefit of long term sobriety is that I can do this without being triggered or tempted to drink, but it's still difficult.....
OTT