The words reckoning and reckless derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *reg, meaning “to move in a straight line.”
To reckon is to enumerate, to count up, to calculate. It comes from the Old English gerecenian: to explain, relate, recount; to arrange in order.
Reckless originally did not mean wild or dangerous. It meant careless, thoughtless, heedless, from the now-obscure verb reck, meaning to care or heed.
To be reckful, as I’m using the word, is to live as though there is only one acceptable path forward. It is to move in a straight line laid down by culture, convention, or fear. It means relying on cautious calculation, optimization, and risk management to control outcomes and minimize regret.
Reckfulness is the habit of using careful calculation to stay on a culturally approved path, even when that path no longer fits.
Reckfulness values safety, legibility, and approval. It asks: What makes sense? What’s reasonable? What will keep me out of trouble?
It asks What’s right? assuming that there is indeed some correct path that you should take. The word right comes from the same root as reck.
There are times in life when reckfulness is necessary. But when you are trying to reinvent yourself, reckfulness is the enemy.
Today, I’m noticing how often I default to straight lines—safe, sensible, culturally approved— and wondering where I might draw something sweeping and curving instead.