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I think people can be a little too loose when they throw "game" around to describe life, or even something like romance.
But because thinking of this thing called life as a game can produce a subtle, placebo-like mind shift that lowers the stakes a bit, I think the metaphor has its utility.
Other ways of describing what I'm going to discuss could be 'the laws of physics in your world' or 'your life weather', but I think 'game' is the smoothest, so we'll be using that.
With that clarification, let's get into how accepting the conditions of *your* game can empower you, and make you more effective.
Understanding Your Life As A Game, With Inherent Conditions
If you're playing a classic side-scrolling game like 'Super Mario Bros. 3', perhaps, you take Bowser to be a necessity for the game, or at least, a feature you know you have to contend with.
Without Bowser, there really is no game. There's no stolen princess, there's no stakes, there's no risk.
Without Bowser, you'd probably think the game was death-ly boring, or unsatisfactory. There'd be no final level, and no conclusion.
Now, let's look at something like your job.
If it comes to your job, you might know that a Jekyll and Hyde boss, or coworker, is just your particular job's game/weather/law of gravity.
If you have a pet, the conditions of the game of having a pet are that they occasionally destroy something precious, or make the wrong thing their toilet.
But in your job, you get paid for your trouble, and with your pet, you get unconditional love.
This isn't to say 'never try to alter your circumstances', but it is a reminder to know what battles are better not fought.
Don't fight city hall, even if you think you're Sheek on "24 Hours To Live."
You may very well try to find a new job, or appease your boss/coworker, and you may look into ways to train your pet. This would kind of be like using cheat codes to improve the circumstances of your game.
But the game level you find yourself in at this very moment may feature a yelling manager, and by choosing what is and letting it be, you're accepting the present circumstances, leading you to more effective actions than resisting that 'what is'.
You can plot your next move, and create a strategy for the problems in your life when you have a moment to breathe, but when you're caught up in the inevitable day-to-day actions and reactions, accepting the rain that's falling and choosing what to do next is going to be more beneficial than standing there scratching your chin.
How To Use 'Your Life As The Conditions of The Game' For Best Results
When it comes to facing hardships, struggle, and challenges *in the moment*, I prefer to use a three-part loop of techniques:
- 1) Choose
Choose *what is* in the moment, so you stop being a 'person who things happen to' to a person that's 'cause' instead of 'effect'.
The change is subtle, but I do find it creates a positive effect.
- 2) See Your Life As The Conditions of The Game
See whatever events, people, places, or things as the landscape of whatever 'level' you're currently playing on.
This doesn't mean dehumanize those that are involved in your life, like the "NPC" people like to do.
It does mean to see all of the things that happen, and things creating that happening, as elements that you have to deal with. Like Sonic the Hedgehog deftly dodging spikes.
A practical way to do this: if you’re feeling anxious, stressed, or coming up against an obstacle, ask what specifically is missing that would make things perfect?
Make whatever is missing the landscape of your current game level, and face it, as if it’s a turtle that needs its head jumped on.
Ex: if what’s missing at your job is the feeling of job security, and support from your boss, treat those two things as the current elements (or antagonists/obstacles) of your ‘game’
- 3) Declare A 'Sigil' To Be, And 'Be' It
Given what you had to choose, and the current challenges in your personal landscape, what way of 'being' would be most beneficial given the present circumstances?
There's a magic in this. By orienting yourself to this new way of being, you can draw compatible results and events to yourself.
It's sort of like how you can hear your name in a crowd of buzzing noise. Or what you may have experienced in the form of results after playing around with sigil magic.
You're primed to be the recipient of outcomes that are compatible with that 'sigil' or 'way of being'.
Wrapping It Up
While there's a time for reassessment, and strategization, there's a need to keep yourself resilient in the day-to-day moments that demand action, and response.
I've personally found success in meeting the day's challenge using that three step loop process, reorienting myself to take on what's in front of me, and starting the process all over again when things change.
Results may vary, of course, but I believe this approach can be an empowering one, especially if you're prone to thinking things are happening to you a little more often than you think that you're acting upon the world you're enmeshed in.
If you find yourself feeling a little too much anxiety in your day-to-day life, it could be worth a shot.