Do you like video games?
I pretend not to. I usually don't, contrary to what you may think after reading this story.
What was the most valuable thing that you learned playing video games?
I generally avoid video games when I can. But just last week I learned something surprising playing a game on my computer. And this isn't any silliness about video games increasing my IQ.
First, let me get this out of the way. I have a confession to make about a previously closely held secret. Make sure nobody is reading over your shoulder. I wouldn't want this to get out. I was addicted to one particular video game recently for an extremely long time - almost two days.
I could make up excuses for myself, maybe I already have, but I'm not writing this to share them. I am writing this to share a valuable lesson from an unexpected source.
Before we get into the timeline of my story, just a note for viewers: do NOT try this at home. I already wasted 2 days, so you don't have to waste any of your time to get the same message.
Tuesday, April 8th, 2:24 P.M. Zuma by PopCap Games
I've been working for the past couple days on my blog and my website. Learning CSS and making a new theme for WordPress. I'm satisfied with my progress. I deserve a little break, don't you think?
I install the Zuma demo on my computer. It is a puzzle game where you are a frog that shoots colored marbles out of your mouth. I heard this game was cool, I'll just play it for 15 minutes and then I will make some phone calls.
Tuesday, April 8th, 3:24 P.M.
WHAT?! My 1 hour trial is up?! But I was just getting warmed up!! I'll just buy the game, play for another 15 minutes and then I'll make some phone calls.
Tuesday, April 8th, 8:46 P.M.
I died! Just one more game (starting Level 3 over again)
Wednesday, April 9th 2:56 A.M.
I died! Just one more game (starting Level 5 over again)
Wednesday, April 9th 10:11 A.M.
I died! Just one more game (starting Level 8 over again)
Wednesday, April 9th 11:54 P.M.
??!! What am I doing?! I just wasted two days!! (even though I slept in the middle there without telling you)
Why are mindless puzzle games like this so addictive? This is even more addicting than reading random stuff on Wikipedia! I decided that this subject required some serious thinking and maybe even an academic study.
I am a very ambitious person. I enjoy "success" in all of its forms. In this context, "success" could be defined as completing the level, or beating the game. There are 10 levels with several stages in each, each level increasingly harder than the last. Pretty basic. If I run out of lives on say, Level 5 Stage 3 (5-3), then when I start a new game, I can start at the beginning of Level 5 (5-1).
Whenever I experienced a "failure" - running out of lives and the end of the game, I immediately started a new game. No thinking was needed. I wanted to complete the level. That was the goal in this excersize. I kept going endlessly like a madman on a mission.
Was I afraid of my game-self "dying"? No. What was there to be afraid of? When the game ended, I knew what I had to do. Start it again. I didn't have to stop to think. This was an automatic reflex. Improve my game. Play better, faster and with more skill.
After a few hours, I got sick of playing the game. So sick of it that I would question why I was even still playing. Then I would remind myself of the goal. I had to complete the level. I had to beat the game. There was so much riding on my completion of this goal.
Success was inevitable. I kept getting better and better each time I played. I kept getting farther and farther. I was learning how to react to the situation and how to improve my game.
But then I asked myself, "Is the game worth winning? Is it worth the price (my time)?" Interesting. I just assumed that it was. You know what they say about people that assume. I stopped playing the game when I realized what I had been acting like.
In the aftermath, I started to think crazy. Is the game just a metaphor for life? A miniture frog-like version of myself going for my life goals?
Maybe the game is a metaphor for the sales process?
You start off playing the game with the prospect, you're doing well, but you get to a point where your skill level just isn't enough to keep up. You lose. Game Over. The prospect rejects you. Ouch.
What do you do? If you have the determination, if you are in the right mental state, you start a new game. You are talking with a new prospect, but this time you start off at Level 2 since that is where your skill level is at now. You're doing much better than before. You get much further. But still, you get to a point where you just can't handle the situation. Game Over. More rejection.
This happens over and over. You win some, you lose some.
When you lose, do you pick up and go on?
When you're playing a video game, there's never a question. At least not for me. I start a new game immediately. I know that is the only way to win the game, the only way to get to the goal. Do I feel any rejection from a video game? No. It's just a game! I don't care what the game thinks of me. That would be silly!
In sales, I can feel beat up when the prospect rejects me.
If you are dating someone and you get rejected by them, you may stop dating altogether.
When I am going for my life's goals, I can be hurt or discouraged by other people along the way. Am I going to let this stop me?
I'm not perfect. I still get down, I have my off-days. But I will always remember the lesson that I learned while I was addicted to playing Zuma.
First, make sure that the game is worth winning. The formula for winning at anything is to keep going, over and over again, increasing your skill level along the way. If you fail, don't think about it too much. The more you think about it, the more you will let the rejection and temporary "failure" drag you down. If you suffer defeat or your game is over, start it again, as quickly as possible and without thinking.
Zopito DiGiovanni writes a popular blog on Positive Thinking called "Zopito DiGiovanni's Success Journal". This blog can be found at http://www.zopito.com
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