Date
Play Smart: Winning at the Game of Life
Career
The most valuable takeaway from my 4 years in university was that I learnt to play the Game of Varsity Education.
Ask any serious gamers (any game – from chess to Minecraft), they know if you want to be a good player, it takes more than luck. And if you want to be a winning player, that’s a whole new level.
To play to win, you need to double down on mastering the:
Essential skills needed,
Strategies to outsmart and outplay the competitors, and
Discipline and attitude to outlast others.
What are the key aspects of the game of life that a winning player needs to know – so that he/she can learn, master and own?
1. The Need for Clarity of Goals
Like games, we have goals in life, school and work.
All have “scoring systems” that provide feedback in the form of successes and failures that we can measure our progress against.
There is a difference here. Unlike games, life success is not dictated by the game designer or the game master. We can define our own metrics or “scores” for success. Money, status, fame are not the only metrics.
2. Knowing the Rules of the Games
Just like games have rules and objectives, life/school/work has its own set of rules that will edge you towards success.
Rules are dynamic. What worked for school is not relevant to work. Unlike school, at work, many rules are unspoken and those who know them have an advantage.
And there are different levels of rules – rules for work in general, organization-specific and even boss-centric ones.
But there are also core rules of work that are effective for all organizations and bosses.
3. Having Good Strategies
We need strategies to effectively navigate life's challenges and achieve our goals in life, school or work. It’s no different from the strategies that are needed to win games.
In a game, players have the freedom to make choices and decisions that affect the outcome of our lives, no different from choices in games that a player needs to make.
The key to good choices is to know:
The rules to win, and
The rules to risk that can give us an advantage.
4. Being Ready for Uncertainty & Surprises
The best games have random elements and surprises, as well as multiple levels, obstacles, and enemies to defeat. Similarly, life is full of uncertainties and unexpected events. These can result in challenges and obstacles that we must overcome.
The best life-players anticipate uncertainties, learn the skills to overcome them and can bounce back from setbacks.
5. Learning to Grow and be a Better Player
To win, we need to learn from our experiences and mistakes, and from others – so that we can improve our skills and strategies. This is no different from players learning from their mistakes and improving their gameplay.
When we view life/school/work as a game, we can approach it with:
a growth mindset and a sense of adventure
assurance that it’s a skill that can be learnt
confidence that there are many aspects of life/school/work that are within our sphere of control and influence.
Life is a game. So is school and work. They are all games. And we are all players.
And whether you like it or not, ready for it or not, we are all players in the game of life, school and work!
Let’s master this game of life, so that we can all play to win!
