A Framework for Your Ultimate Self

The Bento system offers a framework for making decisions that look to the future and beyond a person’s individual self-interest.

The Bento system for decision-making uses a two-by-two grid with four categories: “now-me,” representing immediate self-interest; “now-us,” the immediate interests of yourself plus the people who matter in your life; “future-me,” your own interests 20 years from now; and “future-us,” the interests of yourself and those you love 20 years in the future.

To use the system, you first consider your values and goals in each area. For example, for Yancey Strickler, inventor of the system, now-me means things like health, money, happiness and feeling grounded; now-us means things like togetherness, unity and time; future-me means not selling out, staying curious and having integrity; and future-us means sustainability, justice and progressivism. After defining your values and goals in each area, you can consider any decision in light of all four.

Yancey Strickler invented the Bento system when he was considering what...