UFM Decision Template
Personal working document | Version 1.0
Three phases: Orient (UFM scan) → Select (rational analysis) → Loop (act, evaluate, return). Use this before significant decisions — not for small daily choices.
| SESSION INFO | |||
| Date | Topic / decision area | ||
PHASE 1 ORIENT
UFM layer scan — understand the actual field before you decide anything
Work through each layer briefly. One or two honest sentences is enough. You are not analyzing yet — you are just seeing clearly.
PRE-CHECK: BASIC CONDITIONS (MASLOW)
Are the basic conditions stable enough to proceed? If a lower level is under real pressure, note it — it will distort everything else.
| ☐ Physiological (sleep, food, health) | ☐ Safety (money, housing, stability) |
| ☐ Belonging (isolation, conflict) | ☐ Esteem (feeling capable, respected) |
| Any basic condition currently unstable? If yes: is this decision urgent, or can it wait? |
LAYER 1 — STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS
What are the real facts of this situation? Time, money, location, physical limits. Not feelings about them — just the actual constraints.
| What are the hard structural facts right now? Time pressure, financial reality, location, health, other limits |
LAYER 2 — YOUR CURRENT PERSPECTIVE
Where is your attention right now? What are you actually seeing in this situation — and what might you not be seeing?
| What am I focused on? What is in my foreground right now |
| What might I be ignoring or avoiding? What is in the background or out of view |
LAYER 3 — THE CYCLE RIGHT NOW
Which phase of the adaptive cycle is running most strongly? Is the cycle complete, or stuck at one phase?
| ☐ Observing (still taking in) | ☐ Feeling (strong emotional pull) |
| ☐ Thinking (analyzing, constructing) | ☐ Acting (urge to just move) |
| Is the cycle stuck somewhere? e.g. looping in thinking, acting before feeling |
LAYER 4 — PATTERNS RUNNING
Which of your established patterns is active here? Is this a genuinely new decision, or a familiar one in disguise?
| What pattern do I recognize here? A habit, a belief, a recurring situation |
| Is this pattern helping or running on autopilot? Does it still fit, or is it old? |
MODE OF EXPERIENCE
Which mode is dominant right now? This affects what you can and cannot see clearly from this position.
| ☐ Reflective (analytic, distanced) | ☐ Relational (feeling, contact) |
| ☐ Performance (doing, executing) | ☐ Immersive (flow, absorbed) |
| Does this mode help or limit me here? Would a different mode give a clearer view? |
REGULATORY TENSIONS
Where are you sitting on each tension right now? Circle your position and add a short note.
| Coherence ↔ Openness | Need structure ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ Open to unknown Circle one. Notes: ___________________ |
| Agency ↔ Participation | Acting from self ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ Letting field move me Circle one. Notes: ___________________ |
| Differentiation ↔ Interdependence | Strong boundary ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ — ○ Permeable, connected Circle one. Notes: ___________________ |
STORY-SELF CHECK
What does your current self-narrative say about this decision? Is it steering you toward familiar territory, or is it useful?
| What story am I telling about this? “I am someone who…” / “This always happens to me…” |
| Is that story accurate right now? Or is it an old pattern presenting as a fact? |
| Phase 1 output — what is the actual field? |
| In your own words: what is really going on here? What did the scan reveal? |
| Is this the right moment to decide, or do you need more time / different conditions? |
PHASE 2 SELECT
Rational analysis — now that you see the field clearly, evaluate your options
Use this phase only after Phase 1 is complete. The quality of this analysis depends on the honesty of Phase 1.
STEP 1 — DEFINE THE REAL PROBLEM
| What is the actual problem or decision? State it precisely. One sentence if possible. |
| Is this the real problem, or a symptom of something deeper? Check against Phase 1 output |
STEP 2 — IDENTIFY WHAT MATTERS
What are the criteria that matter most for this decision? Think about your values, your structural conditions (Layer 1), and your functional needs.
| Criterion | Weight (1–5) | Notes |
STEP 3 — GENERATE OPTIONS
List the realistic options. Include doing nothing — that is always an option.
| Option 1 | |
| Option 2 | |
| Option 3 | |
| Option 4 |
STEP 4 — EVALUATE OPTIONS
For each option, score it against your criteria (1–5). Multiply by the weight. Total each column.
| Criterion | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 | Option 4 |
| Criterion 1 | ||||
| Criterion 2 | ||||
| Criterion 3 | ||||
| Criterion 4 | ||||
| Criterion 5 | ||||
| TOTAL |
STEP 5 — GUT CHECK
The scores give information. They do not decide for you. Now check: does the highest score feel right? If not, why not?
| What does the score say? Which option scored highest |
| What does your body / gut say? Any tension, resistance, or relief when you look at the result? |
| Any conflict between score and gut? If yes — what does that conflict tell you? |
| Phase 2 output — what is the chosen direction? |
| The option I am choosing, and the main reason: |
| What I am not choosing, and why that feels acceptable: |
PHASE 3 LOOP
Act → Evaluate → Return to Phase 1
This phase runs after you have acted. It closes the cycle and prepares the next one.
PREPARE
| What is the first concrete action? Specific, small, doable |
| What conditions do I need to act? Time, energy, environment, information |
| What might block me? Internal or external obstacles |
AFTER ACTING — EVALUATE
| What happened? Briefly, factually |
| What was different from what I expected? Surprises, new information |
| What did my body / felt sense say during and after? Not analysis — just what you noticed |
| What pattern did I see in myself? Layer 4 — did an old pattern run, or something new? |
RETURN — NEXT CYCLE
| Is the decision still the same, or does it need revision? |
| What do I carry into the next Phase 1 scan? New information, updated conditions, shifted perspective |
| Phase 3 output — loop complete |
| What I learned from this cycle: |
| How the decision or situation has evolved: |
UFM Decision Template v1.0 | Personal use | Based on the Unfolding Field Model | unfoldingfield.com