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The grandpa test

Whenever I don't know what to do in life I do the grandpa test.

Whenever I don't know if this is a good idea to work on, I do the grandpa test.

Whenever I don't know if I should take that job, I do the grandpa test.

Whenever I don't know if I should kiss her, I do the grandpa test.

I do the grandpa test every time I don't know what to do.

When I don't know if something is worth all the trouble.

So what's the grandpa test?

It goes like this..

I picture my 80 year old self sitting on my veranda (or the street corner) reflecting about my life. The things I've done. The things I haven't done. The things I should maybe have done.

And whenever I get the feeling that it would eat me alive not knowing what my life would have turned into if I did this one thing, I usually just do it.

No matter the consequences. No matter if it even makes any sense at all.

The thing is that most things never make any sense when we look at them right now. In the present moment.

It's like looking at a caterpillar and thinking “wow, that's an ugly butterfly right there.”

Most of the things need time. A lot of time. Time to develop into a beautiful butterfly.

We might just not see it, yet.

Most things only make sense in retrospect. And trying to predict the future never works. Trying to predict the beauty of a caterpillar never works.

Our predictions of the future are usually based on our past experiences. And that's a very limited frame of reference. A frame of reference that can't possibly take into account everything that might happen. That's just impossible.

It all only makes sense in retrospect because most of the things we do in life are part of a big puzzle. 

Looking at each piece individually doesn't make a lot of sense. You'll never be able to predict the big picture. It's just impossible. It only works once you collected all the pieces of the puzzle.

And trying to live a life predicting the big picture, trying to build a life around a picture that's in 99.99% of the cases not your final picture will only lead to misery.

And that's why I use the grandpa test all the time. It helps me to avoid the misery.

But then again, who knows what I'll regret when my final script was written. When my last story was told. And the last scene of my movie was shot..

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