Bonfire season is here. Before the fire is lit, gather up the little rules you live by and see which ones still earn their place.
On the BonfireFlip-test the rules you live by
Write a few small rules - always this, never that - and what you fear would happen if you broke them. Each one is flipped into its opposite to see what it really breaks.
1 The pile
One rule per row, in your own words. Then say what you fear would happen if you broke it - leave it blank if nothing comes to mind. Your hunch is optional.
2 The bonfire free
The page's own read
3 Light it
One run flips every rule into its exact opposite, says what that flip would really break - using only the fear you wrote - and scores what it breaks against what the rule costs you. Each rule lands on the bonfire, on the woodpile, or trimmed to kindling with a smaller version, plus one small experiment to try first. The page re-checks every verdict against the run's own scores.
The sorted pile - none yet
-The page's check
4 Saved piles
How the pile is sorted
Each rule is turned into its exact opposite - the flip - and the flip is judged only by the fear you wrote. Two scores from 0 to 3: what the flip breaks (nothing, or only looks, feelings or what others think, is 0; effort you can make up is 1; money, lost things or a missed event is 2; a large loss you cannot undo is 3) and what the rule costs to keep (a moment, a small task, a real chunk of time or money - plus 1 when the rule allows no exceptions). Then, in order: breaks nothing - on the bonfire; breaks at least as much as it costs - on the woodpile; otherwise - trimmed to kindling, with a smaller rule that drops the no-exceptions words.
Keep it light: this is a playful thinking aid, not professional advice. Rules about health or medicine, safety, the law, money owed, food or body weight, or anyone in your care are never flipped here - keep following them, or ask a professional. Nothing you type is kept unless you press save.