Life is not a game,
but you can learn from games to make your life more adventurous and fulfilling.
Steve Kamb,
a gaming enthusiast who turned his attention to physical
fitness, used concepts of gamification
to change his life. He describes the process in Level Up Your Life.
Throughout much of his childhood and into his early adult years, Kamb
spent much of his free time playing video games.
It was an escape for a life he didn’t always like. On the down side, these
nearly addictive games were not helping him achieve a life he really wanted. He
began to look for what made games so satisfying and how that could be adapted
to making life more satisfying.
It is surprisingly simple. Our brains enjoy making progress, and it
triggers our internal reward centers when we get feedback that lets us know
we’ve progressed. Designers build incremental progress and associated rewards
into the structures of most video games.
Much of the middle part of the book deals with goal setting.
It is not much different from the advice you might find in other self-help
or popular psychology
books, except for the gamification spin. Imagine your idea life (Kamb calls it
your “Level 50” life). Choose some challenging, inspiring, big goals (quests).
Break them down into smaller, doable goals (specific timelines help). Create
systems of accountability and rewards to encourage yourself to stick to it.
Find a group, or groups, of people who can help and encourage you along the
way.
In the final chapters, he deals with supporting concepts about
overcoming fear,
supporting your goals with good health
and fitness, stirring up you sense of adventure, travel tips, and making the
sacrifices you may need to make to live the life you desire and respond to a
higher calling. He takes inspiration from fictional heroes of popular culture: Bruce Wayne
(Batman), Jason Bourne,
Indiana
Jones, and Katniss
Everdeen. He also lists several resources, both web sites and other books. If
you’re inspired by adventure
stories (in games, books,
film
or other media), you may find in Kamb’s book a framework for building the life
you want.
I like that Kamb emphasizes that life, like a game, should be enjoyed.
We should enjoy the process as well as the achievement. We should be flexible
and open to the adventures we may discover along the way; they can enhance our
lives and may prove useful to our quest in surprising ways.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
No comments:
Post a Comment