"The true test of intelligence is getting what you want out of life." -Naval
If life is a game, how do we beat it?
Every game is defined by 3 things: rules, goals, voluntary participation.
By design, life is an infinite game. The only rule is, you stop playing, you lose.
Life may be the hardest game because unlike the games we purchase readymade, you define your own rules, goals and whether you even partake it in as an active participant.
Great games keep you addicted for a long time.
Bad games have you disengaged quickly.
Game designers deeply understand human psychology. They create patterns of artificial effort into positive feedback loops and reinforcement to keep you hooked.
You put some effort in X, you get the reward. Reinforced.
You put more effort in X, you get another reward. Reinforced.
Now they scale the complexity and extend the reinforcement cycle - but just enough to keep you engaged.
The difference between a video game and life is that there are predefined rules or invisible steps to success with a controlled guaranteed reward.
However, in life, nothing is guaranteed.
You could play the academic game. Go to school. Get good grades. Grind your ass off. Get a good job. 2 years later, get fired with a mountain of debt. No reward, no money, no savings.
You could pour your effort into anything yet - walk away with no reward.
If you don't find a way to reward or reinforce yourself, you stop playing the game.
It's not fun, interesting or rewarding anymore. In other words, game over.
A common phrase thrown around is "meaning of life". I believe it's often referenced to the goal.
Is it to make "FK U Money"?
Maybe to have a family?
To buy your home?
To build something you're proud of?
Yet these goals have feedback loops that could span years or decades - with most disengaging before ever tasting success. They stop playing.
The problem to most of our lives is bad game design (with poorly planned rules and goals). We live under the assumption that the rules already exist. Rules that have been set by our circumstances, parents, jobs, government and country.
Wrong.
There are no rules.
You're the only game master.
If you don't enjoy the game you play, you're at fault.
If life is the game, and we're our own game designer, then:
How do I create a life I'm addicted to that's worth playing forever?