10 Life Lessons Gained From Being a Gamer

Gaming does not always get a positive rap from the media, blamed for increasing violence in the younger generations. However, the reality is if used in moderation gaming can have many useful benefits for all age groups!

From enabling us to switch off, reducing our stress levels to helping improve our memories and problem-solving skills too. It also has the potential to teach us many important life lessons.

Here are the 10 life lessons I have learned from being a gamer…

1. Don’t let our energy bar run out!

Depending on the game you get to fight enemies, farm, travel around, shop and collect things or spend time at base camp. However, as you do ‘things’ in the game your energy bar gets depleted thus forcing you to rest. Relating this to my own life makes me realize everything I do is subtracting from my energy ‘bar’ and just like in the game if I don’t rest I will eventually fall flat on my face.

2. To fully appreciate something you need to work hard for it

Many games have a quest line or mission where there are certain goals you need to complete in order to receive something or level up. Sure you could use a cheat, but you’ll appreciate the outcome a lot more when you put in the time and effort! In real-life terms completing projects gives me greater satisfaction, appreciation and highlights the importance of setting goals and patience when it comes to getting something done. So learn to love the process rather than the outcome!

3. Don’t do things alone

From multi-player games to NPCs (Non-Playable Characters). Gaming has certainly taught me that if you want to achieve something ask for help or work as part of a team to achieve goals. And in team missions, all members should receive rewards and recognition for their part. The glory is not held by just one person, it’s shared by all. In life, if you lead a team, then share successes with everyone, and if you fail at a task look for solutions together rather than unproductively blame each other.

4. Actions are more important than your words and appearance

When you play a game you have an objective. You don’t reach that objective just by talking about it. You reach it by doing! In some games, you even get to customize your characters, but often these customizations don’t influence gameplay — unless you're adding an awesome rocket pack! That will take you to new heights! The life lesson here is the simple art of showing up and doing should be of higher importance than what we say or how we look.

5. Crafting your own stuff can be highly rewarding and satisfying

I made my first million — unfortunately, it was in my farming game and not in real life! I crafted the stuff I farmed and now I live in a castle. In comparison to my other saved game. In that version, I have a small house with all mod cons BUT no money. Life lesson with enough time, practice, and hard work you can save a lot of coins and take great pride in making things yourself. There is something very therapeutic about crafting and saving pennies.

6. If you ain’t got the coin you gotta save dude

I wanted a pumpkin pie, but at the market, they wanted 1500 coins — for a PUMPKIN PIE. I needed this pie for a quest. So I saved and saved then lost 500 of it to a fox, long story. Then saved again and it felt so good once I had enough money to buy the pie! I completed the quest and the best part I didn’t get into debt for it! The lesson here is if you really want something save for it. You will appreciate it a lot more.

7. The choices you make have consequences

From how you speak to other players and NPCs, to strategic decisions, your choices often have consequences. This is true in real-life mode too. Be careful of the choices you make as every decision has its consequences. The choices you make today can affect your tomorrow and the tomorrow of others too. It’s important to beware of the influence you can have on yourself and others. Just be kind and if you can’t be kind walk away. Take personal responsibility for your actions, don’t blame others for the choices you make. Growth and respect come from stepping up and taking ownership.

8. Raising a Tamagotchi taught me to better care for others (and houseplants)

And initially, I sucked, but over time I took care of this random creature and it flourished — unlike my real-life pot plants. Having a Tamagotchi taught me to be grateful for fundamentals, such as food, water, rest, and love. Plus it also taught me that sometimes you just got to clear up the shit and move on.

9. Having patience is crucial for success

In some games we collect resources, then we need to wait whilst they get regenerated (respawned). You would never guess it but I do like farming games. In the type of games, I play crafting tends to be the main objective. To craft, you first need to collect from plants, wood, stones, insects, crystals, and metal ores. But once you have gathered all you can from one location you need to wait before you can take more. The life lesson here is that nature needs time to recover before you extract more resources from it. The real world is all about ‘crafting’. Think about when we pick fruit and vegetables from trees and plants. Nature has an abundance of resources, we just need patience.

10. Skills get better with consistant practice

Whether it’s crafting, combat, or farming gaming teaches us that the more we play the better we perform. This installs a good ‘work’ ethic. for example, you cannot expect to become a master without making mistakes along. So just like in the real world if you want to do something like learn a musical instrument, language, or crafting then you have to keep working at it. Persistence pays off, so long as you’re also comfortable asking for help when you need it too!

In the end: Key takeaways...

Annoyingly real-life doesn't always go as planned! We are ultimately a result of our life experiences - wins, defeats, and quests. What gaming has taught me is in life you have to be persistent, consistent, patient and in the end, there is always a choice.

A choice to try again, respond differently to a situation, ask for support if needed or take a break whilst you consider the next move. In essence, just as we get respawned in games this happens in real life too!

Gaming made me realize that. Gaming doesn’t always turn young minds into violent mini Hulks. It can teach younger people important life skills such as personal responsibility, money management, strategy, and patience.