The thrill of the game – in work and life

 

If you’ve ever played video games, you know that the fun is advancing to the next level.

Overcoming the obstacles thrown at you unlocks new features, brings new adventures and leads you to get better at playing the game.

The same is true in life, especially at work.

You likely have ideas, dreams and visions that call to you – whether advancing your career, launching a new project, or making a bigger difference. Every day gives you a new opportunity to reach a little higher and get a little closer.

What if you could approach your personal and work challenges with the same enthusiasm and vigor you might bring to advancing to the next level in a video game?

In real life it’s far too easy to get lured into playing small and staying where you’re at. We don’t intend to do that, of course. Our intentions are often grand. But a myriad of reasons keep us from acting on them.

• We don’t give ourselves permission to dream big (and to pursue those dreams)
• We’re too busy doing things that could/should really be delegated to others
• We don’t know where (or how) to start
• We fear we don’t have what it takes (and stay in our comfort zones instead)
• We’re waiting for the right opportunity (instead of creating one)
• We worry there’s too much to lose if we “fail” (and forget what’s at stake if we don’t try)

Anytime you endeavor to do anything worthwhile, you will meet with resistance.

And while this resistance may take the form of actual obstacles, often it’s our own fear that is the most formidable of them. Because this fear makes the roadblocks appear much more imposing and immovable than they really are.

The good news is that any obstacle you impose upon yourself is within your power to overcome. You must simply decide what you want is more important than your fear. Acting on that courage unlocks something within yourself in much the same way that advancing to the next level of a video game gives you superpowers you didn’t have at the previous level.

It’s true that you have a lot more to lose in real life than you do in video games, but most of the things people are afraid of are far less likely and impactful than the consequences of holding out on the visions and dreams most precious to them.

That’ll kill you silently over time and suck the joy out of living.

A funny thing happens when you muster up the courage to act despite your fear, doubts and resistance. You gain the confidence and competence necessary to respond to challenges in ways you never thought you could, and the resilience to bounce back from any setback and start again.

And you learn and accomplish things that dramatically improve the quality of your own life as well as everyone around you.

Once you learn to work through your fear and other obstacles, you inspire others to do the same.

Every great accomplishment is a result of someone moving through their resistance to go beyond what they’ve done before and achieve what many never dreamed possible.