Life Lessons Learnt From Gaming...

I have three primary sources I turn to for spiritual growth and development.

Those three sources are:

1) Music.

2) Superhero Comic Books/Graphic Novels.

3) Video games.

Feel free to accuse me of a refusal to grow up or childish immaturity. I’ve heard them all.

Growing up is a trap I fell for once. Never again.

I decided to write this in order to share the wisdom I learned from a lifetime of gaming. Not any one gamer or console, mind you, but the overall practice itself. You may recognize some characteristics in the games you play.

Persistence. Above all else, just keep trying (within reason; results may vary)

With every failure, you will find a brick of knowledge on how to succeed. Those bricks will build the foundation for your success.

You will fail. A lot. Like a lot, a lot. That’s okay, as long as you don’t rage-quit.

Sometimes the fun is in the journey, but you don’t realize that until you arrive at your destination.

Sometimes you won’t be able to take the straight line route. You will have to achieve your objective via a detour that seems to take you further away. Trust in the process and your instincts.

Every expert started out as a beginner.

Even experts fuck up.

Always consult the tutorial and read the instructions, even if it’s just for the basics.

Sometimes things aren’t fun right away. It may require some effort, and you might not get your rewards until much later.

Whether you have the Standard, Deluxe or Ultimate Edition, it’s what you do with it that matters.

A dog or cat as a life companion makes the journey bearable.

Remember: Everything you do along the way can become a potentially useful skill.

Most problems can be solved by simply paying attention to what is around you.

Sometimes the clues are blatantly obvious...provided you know what you’re looking for.

Nobody ever sees the amount of grinding you had to do in order to level up.

Sometimes, violence is inevitable. Make sure you’re good at it.

Every boss has a weakness. Your job is to locate it and win.

Always stop at the tavern/pub/bar.

Help others to level up where you can. There is no greater feeling.

Courtesy and decency will take you further than you might think.

It is nice to have people to help you along the way, but 90% of the time, you’re on your own.

Taking on greater challenges with bigger rewards is daunting, intimidating and scary as hell. Do it anyway. Even if you fail, you’ll have the best drinking stories.

Sometimes completing an extremely difficult task requires putting your tools down, walking away and taking a break.

You will, from time to time, encounter mean spirited obnoxious nihilistic asshats who are just that way for the sake of it. Avoid them if you can, kill them if you can’t (JOKING! *kinda*)

Always explore the city, every nook and cranny. You’ll genuinely be surprised at what you find, and it is never time wasted.

The more resistance you encounter means you are closer to the objective. Double your efforts, put your head down and do the damn thing.

The more prepared you are, the luckier you get.

The thing you’re looking for will always be in the last place you look.

If a shortcut appears, for God’s sake...TAKE IT.

Things are a lot easier when you have better sources of loot.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting and having nicer things. Just remember to appreciate what you have for now.

While you’re busy envying the person at a higher level than you, someone is envying you for the exact same thing. It’s all about perspective.

A lot of the time, it’s really about things falling into the right spot at the right time. And that takes a lot of attempts.

You’re going to feel a little bit sad once you’re at the end. Sometimes the journey to get there was actually more fun than getting there. You just only realize it once you’re done.

You’re a lot more talented than you might think. You just haven’t discovered that yet.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the only person who digs what you’re doing. As long as it makes you happy, and it doesn’t cause anyone harm.

There isn’t any one definitive ‘type’ of person doing it. Be open to that fact.

Try and have fun while you’re out there.

No matter how many mistakes you make...you can always start over and try again.