In the book The Midnight Library, there is a scenario where two characters are preparing to play a game of chess. “It’s an easy game to play,” Mrs. Elm told Nora. “But a hard one to master. Every move you make opens up a whole new world of possibility.”
She went on to explain: “At the beginning of the game, there are no variations There is only one way to set up a board. There are nine million variations after the first six moves, And after eight moves there are two hundred and eighty-eight billion different positions. And those possibilities keep growing, There are more possible ways to play a game of chess than the amount of atoms in the observable universe. So it gets very messy. And there is no right way to play; there are many ways. In chess, as in life, possibility is the basis of everything. Every hope, every dream, every regret, every moment of living.”
Think about your personal chess board as we approach the new year. January can be a way to reset your board and start a new game, but what you do with those first few moves will influence how the rest of the year plays out. The board is alive with possibility — plan your next moves now to capitalize on them.
Source: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, 2020, page 195. (Highly recommend the book!)
