This is why people play video games. It explains why games like The Sims and RPGs (Role Playing Games) such as World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights are super popular.
For those unfamiliar with RPG systems, Experience Points (XP) are given to player for putting in their hard work. Whenever the player accomplishes a certain task -whether it be slaying a beast, convincing the old man to come with you, or saving the kitten in the tree- the player is given a certain amount of Experience Points. The amount of XP will vary based on the difficulty of the task. For example, convincing the old man will give you 10 XP, while slaying the evil beast will give you 100 XP.
When you collect enough XP, you will automatically gain a new Experience Level. With a new Experience Level, the player is rewarded with more Strength, Intelligence, Magic Spells, Weapons, Gold, etc. The Sims works on a similar level based on the amount of time you spend with your character. But I’ll stick with the RPG metaphor, it’s more fun. 🙂
Unfortunately, life doesn’t work according to Experience Points rules. Go with me on this:
The more time you put into a job, eventually, you should level up and make more money (not guaranteed, but pretty likely). And if you have more money, that allows you to buy a bigger car, house, etc. if you desire those things.
But leveling up at your job doesn’t necessarily make you any stronger or wiser (or give magic spells… unless you’re working in some crazy chemistry lab, which sounds like an awesome job!).
So basically, you have to play another game at the same time for your Personal Experience Level. You have to work on skill-sets (or hobbies) outside of your work life, such as painting, learning a language, playing music, creating a game, how to fix a car, really anything you wish you could do.
But how do you do them? Where do you find the time? Search me. I’m not a personal development guru. I won’t pretend to be one. Steve Pavlina has billions of articles on that kind of subject, go ask him. I don’t even believe in most of that stuff (all Personal Develop gurus are nuts). I personally develop myself all the time. I know what works for me. But it maybe completely different from what works for you.
For example, Steve Pavlina has some wonderful method for waking up refreshed every morning.
I actually did try that for 21 days (couldnt make it to 30), it didn’t work for me. I have never had a Circadian Rhythm at all. So… I currently use 3 alarm clocks to wake up in the too early in the morning so I can be tired on purpose. This way I can fall asleep at night and avoid insomnia.
What does this have to do with gaming systems? Well, in a good game, the Player is rewarded no matter what, and the game’s ruleset decides the reward for you. As long as the Player puts in the time and does what he is told, he gets the experience and the reward.
In real life, you can put in all sorts time and work, yet there is no guarantee you will be rewarded (ooh, scary, huh?). What’s worse, you have to tell yourself what to do and choose your own rewards, life won’t do it for you.
On that note, I gotta go level up.