How to win the "Game of Life"

 Life Skills from Video Games for Career Success

Videogames have been my go-to form of entertainment since childhood and remain to be so. As a kid, my passion for gaming was astonishing, now that I look back at it! Upon self-reflection, I have realised that a lot of thinking patterns that I had as a kid playing video games can be used at present as an adult for personal growth.

Life lessons learned from video gaming that can be vital for career success:

1. You can always try again:

Activity: I remember having played certain game levels over and over again until I completed the objective. It is astounding and admirable to have that attitude of trying as many times as it takes to do it. Whatever it takes!

Thought pattern: In my mind, I knew the game was designed to be won. I was somehow convinced that I'm not trying hard or smart enough and that's the reason I was not achieving the objective. It was done before so I can do it too! I internalised the reason for not being able to achieve it instead of blaming the game. Taking accountability and converting circumstances into controllable factors was a "game-changer".

Takeaway: If you think life was designed to be won and realised that other people have done so previously and you can do it too, I think our chances of success increase manyfold! It's essential to not lose that kid-like enthusiasm and drive to achieve an objective. Not fearing repeated failures and enjoying the process like in a game works wonders.

2. There is more than one way to achieve the objective:

Activity: Some games are designed to give more control to the gamer in terms of the ways the objectives can be achieved. This was a creative way of game design that enhanced the creativity of the gamer as well. Possibilities are sometimes endless with open-world games that almost simulated real life.

Thought pattern: Even though the objective was completed, it always prompted me to think better and somehow come up with a new way to achieve the same goal more simplistically and easily. This enhanced my creative side and indeed lazy people find easier ways to accomplish goals 😆

Takeaway: Some career plans or business processes even though are achieved can always be introspected to find more efficient ways of accomplishing them in the future. It is just a matter of getting creative and finding ways to be more efficient in terms of time, resources, or anything that relates to doing the same thing in a better way.

3. There's always side hustles apart from the main objectives:

Activity: Most games have side missions and mini objectives that are optional for play. You find some extra points, valuable objects, coins or whatever as a reward for playing these extra side missions.

Thought process: As a kid, collecting points was more valuable than money, haha! I always took these optional chances to collect more rewards that I knew would help me in the main journey or objective.

Takeaway: There's always side hustles that you can pick up and work on to help you in your primary journey focusing on the main goal. The rewards can be more than just extra money like meeting new people, learning new skills, and building on our thought process which is vital for our main journey.

4. We always meet new people on our journeys; both inhibiting and catalytic:

Activity: Games are built to be challenging but also fulfilling in terms of the sense of accomplishment. So during the entire game, there are characters that we meet who are both beneficial and who curb our growth or stop us from achieving our objectives. This can be enemies or obstacles in games and characters that team up with us for a common goal.

Thought process: It is obvious in a game what factors or characters are beneficial and what makes the journey challenging. We simply make the best use of the symbiotic relations and stay away or overcome those that make our journey in the game tougher.

Takeaway: It might not be very obvious who the ally is and who the enemy is in real life. But it is discovered sooner or later and we can apply the same game strategy to build rapport with well-wishers and allies while we avoid or overcome the curbing effect of our not-so-well-wisher, haha! (Wouldn't like to call them enemies like in games which is a bit harsh 😝)

5. Always looking forward to the next journey:

Activity: Once the game and all objectives were completed, I remember looking forward to the next instalment in the franchise of the game or something similar in the future.

Thought process: Even though the game was both daunting and rewarding, it was an overall fun experience that helped us live the moments to the fullest. This always made me look forward to more challenges and rewards in the future. Having this game-like attitude towards the journey of life will help us conquer our goals while we have fun failing and learning on the way to it.

Takeaway: Time and tide wait for none couldn't be more true. We can all relate to the fact that we feel overwhelmed by how fast time passes by. While you finish each phase of your life like school, college, graduation, and professional life celebrate the small wins and always look forward to the next stage with excitement and child-like enthusiasm in the "Game of Life."

PS - If you haven't heard about "The Super Mario Effect" watch this YouTube video that inspired my blog:

The Super Mario Effect - Tricking Your Brain into Learning More | Mark Rober | TEDxPenn