What is the Worst Thing That Can Happen?

I have a friend who was considering changing jobs and he asked me for some advice. The poor, sorry son of a bitch. So I played along, like I had something useful to contribute.

I told him that whenever I had any big, potentially life changing decisions to make, I would always ask myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen?" My personal answer to this mostly rhetorical question usually involves aliens or quantum shifts in the fabric of the space/time continuum. Like most people who don't have my kind of imagination, my friend took the question seriously.

He was thinking about leaving a sales career that intruded on his weekends here at the nudist resort. To my way of thinking, the job had to go. I mean, if it wasn't for priorities how would we be any different than animals. (Other than opposable thumbs, a spoken language, tools, society, and a sense of humor.) Am I right?

So, for his own good, I planted the seed of ambiguity. I asked a rhetorical question with enough self-serving answers to justify anything he wanted to do. And if it turns out badly, all I did was ask a question. I never really gave him any solid advice.

I see this as a win-win-win-win situation. He is obviously dissatisfied with the old job if he is considering a new one. He is intrigued by the present offer of the new job. He will have weekends free for Sunny Rest. And he thinks I gave him some good advice.

So he seriously asked himself, "What is the worst thing that can happen?" It turns out his old boss would be willing to take him back any time. He would not lose anything on that end. And at a worse case, the new job would be an adventure for a while that would free up his weekends during the summer.

Anyway, my friend took the job. He is happy as can be. I'm getting free drinks and people are under the mistaken impression that I am wise. Not bad for a smart ass. But then again, what was the worst thing that could have happened?