Five Wisdom Biscuits
Annoyance Bingo.
Lose your patience. Win big.
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Game play begins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 12:00am PT — First Prize: $100
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The Origin of Annoyance Bingo.
For years, I’ve asked mourners at funerals to track the least compassionate things said in an attempt to comfort them — and send me the best (and worst) examples.
The idea: when someone says something cringey, instead of being put off, you think, “Ooh, I’m going to share that with Rabbi Brian and make him laugh.”
A winning entry: one of my students was told — in a failed attempt to comfort them about the loss of their grandfather — “It’s not that bad; no one really liked your granddad anyhow.”
Annoyance Bingo works the same way.
Instead of being irritated when something annoying happens, you get to get excited, check your bingo card, and maybe win $100.
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How to Play:
(A) Predict five annoying things likely to happen to you in the next week:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
(B) Write each prediction into a blank square on the bingo card.
Game play begins Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at 12:00am PT — First Prize: $100
When you have five in a row— across, down, or diagonal—take a photo of your card and send it to me.
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If you are considering (or have just considered) playing, you’ll notice something odd: you are almost rooting for annoyances to happen!
Epictetus reminds us: “It’s not the thing that annoys us, as much as it is our opinion of that thing.”
It’s our attitude that matters.
And, we do have (some) control over our attitude.
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Solo game instructions:
Any time you get annoyed, make a hatch mark on a piece of paper.
Five annoyances = one small reward, like a cookie.
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I hope this has helped to remove the sting of some annoyances.
You’re welcome.
I love you.
