Most people don’t realize what matters until they’ve already lost it.
But you don’t have to wait for that to happen.
You can run a thought experiment right now: if this thing disappeared from the world tomorrow, would you be sad?
Parents, partner, kids, that friend you talk to every day.
These answers are probably too obvious to be useful.
Where this test really shines is with the things you’re not sure about.
Like technology.
I tried it myself.
If crypto disappeared tomorrow, would I be sad? No. My life wouldn’t change at all.
If AI disappeared tomorrow, I’d be genuinely sad. In less than three years, it’s woven itself into my daily life. I use it every day to write, code, and think through problems.
Both are supposedly game-changing “new technologies.” Completely different answers.
It’s not just technology. Side projects, relationships, daily habits, furniture in your home, files on your computer. You can run this test on all of them.
Imagine them disappearing tomorrow.
If you feel relieved, get rid of it. If you feel nothing, keep feeling nothing. If you feel sad, cherish it.
We’re human. We can imagine. We can judge. We don’t have to wait until something’s gone to know the answer.
