Thought Experiments

A different version of you exists in the mind of everyone who meets you. No one will ever know the full you; how could they? They only know the slice of you they see, under whatever circumstances they meet you. If you put all those slices together, what does that mosaic look like? If all the pieces of you were assembled into a whole, what colors would shine? Print up this sheet and color in the facets that might shine under different lights.

If life handed out lemons, lemonade would be free. I find that life hands out more bullshit than lemons. But while it lacks Vitamin C, bullshit is rich in the nutrients required to nurture seeds of growth. Print up this metaphorical garden and spread that bullshit all over the metaphorical dirt. Now pull out your seeds. What are you going to plant? What do you want to grow? What kind of garden do you want to cultivate? Plant those seeds and tend them. Yank out the weeds that threaten your new growth. 

Imagine that every time you ever made a decision, no matter how small or insignificant, another universe sprang into existence where you made the opposite decision. Imagine there is now an infinite range of potential universes, each with a different potential you. In some of those universes you're an astronaut. In other's you've been elected president of something important. In others you've died of an overdose or an entirely prevdentable accident. Now imagine you can choose 12 of them to have lunch with. Call them the Council Of Potential Selves (COPS). When you hit an obstacle, call up your COPS. You can even ask them to bestow upon you their knowledge or skills. Which versions of yourself do you choose? What skills or knoweldge do you ask for? 

Imagine it is 100 years in the future and a local business or organization plans to create a huge mural on the side of a building to commemorate your contributions. What building will hold your tribute? What will be featured in the mural depicting your life or accomplishments? Don't limit yourself to your current timeline. Imagine you haven't even done these heroic feats or displayed your amazeballs skills yet. What would you WANT to be in your mural? The world's biggest blob of chewing gum? The longest ever continuous Fortnite session? Inventing a form of male birth control that males will actually use? A new viral dance move that incorporates a rubber chicken? Design it here.

We all have a fuck bucket, a metaphorical space where we store our fucks (the things that are most important to us, our priorities). It's what we base our bucket lists on, our remaining goals, dreams and wishes. As you work through your bucket list, don't forget to refill your bucket with new things to give a fuck about. And fun fact: we get to choose how to spend our fucks! We don't have to fill our buckets with other people's fucks! We can fill it with our OWN fucks! So what do you give a fuck about? Fill up your fuck bucket and start living for your own fucks, instead of someone else's.

Imagine your ancestors. All of them. Picture the unbroken line of great-great-great-great-grandparents, aunts, uncles  and cousins stretching back across the millenia. It's ok if you can't picture their faces, because they can picture you. All you have to do is summon them in your mind. Call out across your bloodline, even if you have no idea where it reaches. Call your ancestors to you through time, and tell them their descendant needs support. Imagine that the bravest, strongest, wisest, kindest and most interesting ancestors answer the call and gather around you to form a Tribe Of Elders (TOES). Listen to your TOES. Let your TOES guide you with their unspoken knowledge and wisdom, which they will impart to you like osmosis. Your TOES are very wise, and they have the benefit of hundreds (even thousands) of years of perspective and observation. Your TOES are very proud of you for making it this far. They want to see how far you can go.