The Fork of Terrific and Horrific

Metaphorical Narrative

Two words sit side by side: terrific and horrific.
They rhyme, they carry the same weight at the end — -ific.
But the paths they carve are galaxies apart.

It’s not the ending that made the difference. It was the start.
One began with terr-, awe and wonder.
The other with hor-, dread and shivers.

By the time the ending arrived, the course was already set. The soil was already seeded. The river was already bent.

Core Insight

We overestimate endings. We agonize over results. But the divergence happens far earlier — in the beginning we choose.

The “problem” is rarely in how things finish. The real turning point is the new start you commit to. You don’t control the finale directly. You control the seed, the tilt, the opening note.

Terrific or horrific isn’t destiny — it’s a prefix you step into.

Saturday Experiment

1. Think of one area of life where you’ve been obsessing about the “end” result.
2. Shift your focus: what’s the new beginning you can choose instead? A different tone, a different opening move.
3. Write it down in one line, as if it were your new prefix. (Example: terr- = awe, hor- = dread. What’s yours?)

Sunday Reflection

If a reader were observing your week, what beginning would they say you chose?
Did the “prefix” of your decisions lean toward awe or dread?
And if they rewound the tape to today — where would you want them to see your new start take root?