What happens when we stop replaying the same old tune
Before streaming and playlists, we bought music on 45-rpm vinyl singles. The hit song lived on the A-side. The B-side wasn’t something you stumbled into. It didn’t play automatically.
You had to physically flip the record over to hear it.
And most of us rarely bothered.
Yet the B-side was often where the real discovery happened.
One of the best examples is “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets, released as the B-side to a forgettable song called “Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town).” No one paid attention to it until someone turned the record over. That overlooked track became one of the most influential songs in rock history.
Life has a way of mirroring this. Most of Life Happens on the B-Side
We all tend to cling to the familiar.
The same meals.
The same routines.
The same ideas.
The same emotional responses.
We live on the A-side because it’s comfortable, predictable, and free of surprises.
But the deeper, fuller parts of living often wait on the B-side, the one we have to choose intentionally. It doesn’t play itself.
We have to turn something over.
Examples of B-Side Living
B-side moments don’t need to be dramatic. They can be simple or stretching:
• Ordering something unfamiliar instead of the usual.
• Trying a new class or hobby you’ve quietly wanted to explore.
• Letting yourself rest when habit says “push through.”
• Sitting down with someone you differ from politically, and staying curious instead of defensive.
• Having an honest conversation you’ve avoided.
• Changing your mind when new insight arrives.
• Choosing curiosity over certainty, especially when being right feels tempting.
These moments shape us. They expand our ability to connect, to understand, and to grow.
Why the Flip Side Matters
Life becomes richer when we stay open to the unexpected, the inconvenient, or the unfamiliar. Growth rarely comes from the well-worn path.
It comes from the B-side. From the song we didn’t expect to love.
From the experience we were hesitant to try. From the conversation we weren’t sure we were ready to have.
The A-side is predictable.
The B-side is where transformation lives.
So here’s to flipping the record,
to letting the unexpected play,
and to discovering the meaningful parts of life we might have missed.
-Jan
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