I’ve never worked at anything in my life as hard as I do when I play video games. Your first thought might be “Wow, that’s kind of sad,” but I think the more important question to ask is- why is that? And I think I’ve got it vaguely figured out. Or rather, I think video games, through natural selection, have got people very well figured out.
The best video games are often described as immersive. They know how to engage people, to draw them in, to make them feel like they’re fighting for something. They know how to get them emotionally involved. They give you the thrill of victory, the fulfilment of character development. They give you a sense of accomplishment- you get rewarded for doing things well. They make you feel like you matter, like you have a purpose- in sandbox games where they don’t define a purpose for you, you get to define your own purpose and you’re given a sense of power. They challenge you to perform, and reward you when you rise up to meet the challenge.
It is entirely possible for us to face real life with the same intensity and excitement that we do video games. There is no game anywhere as challenging, as interesting, as complex or rewarding as real life can be if you let it. People immerse themselves in games like World Of Warcraft because it gives them a sense of power and accomplishment. It makes them feel like they’re a part of a grand narrative, and there are wonderful experiences to be had along the way, relationships to be built, camaraderie to be forged. You can be whatever you want to be in World of Warcraft. And in real life.
The only difference between video games and reality is clarity. Video games are clearly defined. If you earn this much experience points, you will level up, and you’ll be stronger, faster and more powerful. The rewards that you can earn are clear. Real life is a bit more vague, because your status bars, character sheets, experience points, allies and enemies aren’t made clear. You have to do that yourself. But therein lies limitless possibility. You can choose what you want to do, how you want to be. You get to design your own game interface within your own life, and you can reward yourself for playing it well. And once you look at things this way, no video game comes anywhere close to the sheer satisfaction of living well.
I volunteer myself as an experimental subject to test this hypothesis. I shall begin by re-framing my goals as challenges, as achievements to be unlocked and accomplished through clearly defined steps. Accomplishing these challenges will be fun and fulfilling experiences- I’m careful not to draw a direct relationship between accomplishment and my sense of self-worth, so that I don’t sabotage my own efforts with anxiety and expectations. I’m going to do this to have as much fun as possible, just as I do when I play a good video game. I’ve decided to draw up my game according to 4 primary challenges, which are as follows:
The Fitness Challenge:
Half Marathon: I’ve signed up for a half-marathon (21km run) at the end of May, which gives me about 20 weeks of preparation time. My basic goal is to complete it, secondary goal is to complete it with a decent time- which I shall figure out over the next few runs. I plan to train with at least two good runs a week- perhaps one for speed and one for distance, with additional side-quest fitness obtained from a weekly gym session. I will define this more clearly in a later post.
Weight Gain: I’d like to weigh more- my general state of skinniness has always been a source of self-consciousness for me. I’d like to be stronger, have better posture, look and feel better. I’d like to fit into my clothes better. To accomplish this, I need to eat and work out consistently. I know exactly what needs to be done, and how I have to do it- I’ve just been a little bad at the consistent part.
The Financial Challenge:
Owe Nothing: I’ll be 21 this year, and I’ll be done with my National Service in a year and a third. I’m old enough to take charge of my own finances. I don’t take money from my parents any more, whatsoever. They still pay for my phone bill- I intend to change this ASAP. (This weekend).
Make Money: I’m starting by selling all my unnecessary clutter- books that I’ve read and don’t plan to read again, CDs, a bass guitar that I don’t play but have been keeping around for unnecessary value, my blazers, stuff like that.
The Social Challenge:
Quantity: I’m starting by weeding out all the people that I don’t know, want or need. This isn’t cruel- I thought it was, for a while, but then I realise that nothing happens apart from a sort of uneasy coexistence, and the glut of information from so many people results in me not paying enough attention to the people that do matter. I’m deleting people on Facebook- I’ve gone from over 1,600 to about 1,400, and I intend to keep deleting. I wonder if I can eventually get it down to about 1,000? Same applies to Twitter, and contacts on my mobile phone.
Quality: I’m going to make a conscious effort to invest in the people that matter. I’ll make sure that I meet up with awesome people on a regular basis, and do this by scheduling stuff.
The Secret Challenge:
I’m not talking about this one. Yet. You’ll just have to wait!
I will flesh out the challenges in greater details with step-by-step plans in later blog posts. Cheers!