Life is a Game

I find it bizarre to think it took me so long to figure this out. Life is just a big game. The world is our playground. Everyone on earth is my playmate. The point is to win, and there are plenty of people eager to tell you how to measure success.

Suggestions range from self-centered measures like wealth, prestige, and comfort to more globally-minded answers like service, love, and leaving the world a better place than you found it. None of these answers are completely wrong, and my point is that whatever your life goal and however you measure success, make sure you ENJOY DOING whatever you do!

Why not?! It makes whatever you do better. More rewarding. More motivating. More inspiring. More attractive. More fun. And thus, more successful. You can even enjoy suffering if you get in the right frame of mind and see the purpose in it (and no matter what you want, you're bound to suffer sometimes so you may as well learn to enjoy it).

It surprises me that I just realized all this (again?) because it seems I always used to handle life that way. I usually did what I wanted, was very successful in most things, made plenty of time for fun and adventure, and enjoyed just about any task that I "had to" do.

I guess somewhere along the way I bought into the idea that life is "serious." And certainly there were experiences that weren't the least bit fun to endure. I may have enjoyed them more or gotten through more quickly if I had been more aware of the fact that life is a game.

Here are just a few examples of the difference this perspective can make:

• The driver ahead of you is going 15 mph under the speed limit and keeps making you miss the green lights. But then you think, "Oh, well, life is just a game and this doesn't really matter" and suddenly you're not upset at the retard ahead of you.
• You want to figure out your life direction and which of several paths would be "best" and then you realize that you're just here to get experience and enjoy the process and you can do that in many different ways so unless something tells you otherwise, you can take whichever path you feel like and it'll be fine.
• You see someone who you don't like or who intimidates you but when you remember that s/he is just another player in our giant sandbox, most of that just goes away. You go on with your game and let them play theirs.
  
• You're broke, stupid, unattractive and overweight and you suddenly realize that all those messages about how worthless all this makes you are just part of the game and you don't have to follow those "rules" and play that way. Others may believe all that but you don't have to.

Anyway, if you've been taking life too seriously, worrying, feeling discouraged or confused, and wondering how in the world anything will ever get better, here's your answer: quit taking life too seriously, worrying, and feeling discouraged and confused and just go have fun. Lighten up. Relax and enjoy yourself. Do whatever it takes. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.