Life as a video game

The game of life is often difficult and frustrating, except if you are born in some rich family. Even for them, they have their own difficulties and frustrations. Life treats us like a video game and each level has to be played till we level up. Each level throws up new challenge we get busy tackling it. The age till teens is the formative years where our life is guided by our parents. After that when we start developing our cognitive thinking capability to take on the world, the game starts. There are 4 levels in this video game of life.

1. Level 1 – the basic needs of work, food and shelter. It means that you are not starving and homeless and have a decent income to sustain.

2. Level 2 – identifying your people. You have to find and identify the people whom you can love and who will also love you. It is an emotional jungle where you pick up your own marker points.

3. Level 3- reinforcing your security. Once your basic needs are secured, now is the time to upgrade your skills and knowledge which will add value to your life as well as a small part of the world. Your success directly or indirectly affects a small part of your surroundings.

4. Level 4- create a legacy. This is to make sure that your life mattered even after you are gone.

This video game has to be played by all of us. We are randomly thrown in this game in the laps of some random pair whom we call our parents therefore we get a tailor made set of environment with its set of advantages and disadvantages. For this reason it seems to us that we have no control over the game. But there are some simple principles to play the game.

• Life will keep on posing problems it random and unexpected time and situation. We have to keep on solving them. When life will give a break from its problems then we will ourselves create some for us. We feel that this problem gives us meaning to life, so we can both curse the problems but cannot live without those.

• We can respond to these problems by a solution or a distraction. Whenever a new problem is thrown to us we will have to react to it, even our non reaction to it is also type of reaction. We will first try to find a solution to it by actively engaging it. When we fail then we might resort to distraction. Distraction is when we decide to ignore the problem and accept it as a part of our life. We train our mind to live with it thereby dulling the pain and irritation of that problem.

• We have to use this technique of solution or distraction repeatedly so that it becomes a habit. A series of solutions will take us to the next level and a series of distractions will keep us in that level.

The formula for winning the game of life is quite simple.

• Identify and assess the problems

• plan your solution or distraction

• level up

• success and profit - win

Suppose I have a problem with my boss in office and he hates me. I can try for a solution like confront him about the issues, work hard, and take a transfer to new place. I can go for distraction like drowning myself in beer and smoke pot. Whatever we choose we are likely to use it in future also. If we choose solutions to every problem then we will make it a habit and therefore level up fast. If we choose distractions and make it a habit then we will keep struggling in the same level.

Levelling up doesn’t mean that we can forget the previous levels. It means managing the previous levels as well as striving to reach the next level. It’s like juggling knives, you start with juggling one knife( level 1) but as you level up you are juggling 2 or 3 knives (level 2 or 3). So it becomes more difficult.

There are some codes of conduct which will help you in this game.

• Take responsibility and go for solutions. If you think that life is out of control and problems are insurmountable then you are playing yourself in to the hands of distraction. You may feel that distraction is working for you but it will only be for short term and slowly the problems will start piling up and then things will actually be out of your control.

• Be true about your solutions and distractions. Separating your solutions and distractions can be a problem because as a human nature you will try to cloak your distractions as a solution. We can tell ourselves that distraction is the solution or we need these distractions. Don’t try to camouflage your distractions but accept it. If you are not in a position to find a solution to it then keep it open for the appropriate time when you can tackle it.

• Stop complaining. It will only prolong the problem. It is most easy to think that you are playing the toughest match and others are having a gala time. Complaining will not solve problems but aggravate it. It will shut your mind from trying to find a solution and will push you towards looking for distraction.

• Don’t be ashamed. When we have a problem and create a distraction we have a tendency to hide them by creating a bigger distraction. This way we propel ourselves more in the downward spiral of problem and distractions and shame. Everyone is floating in the same rough sea of life and you are not the only one. Don’t be ashamed of yourself that you are not able to navigate the game properly. Try yourself and if required take help also. If you keep yourself in the dark then the sunlight will never disinfect you.

The last level that is level 4 is an optional level and you may try to reach that level, but if you fail then also you are a winner. For most of us the game ends at level 3.