Choosing a future state requires us to have a perspective to judge the future state by.
What are the criteria for determining the best future state, is it time, money, opportunity, or risk?
Determining the overall requirements and the weighting of those requirements is the first step. The second step is applying those requirements to the different options for a future state.
The process of deciding on criteria and then applying those criteria will build awareness of what the ideal future state is. The value is in the exercise itself, not in the calculation of a final number.