How Video games will make you progress faster in life

I’ll be honest

I’ve struggled with video game addiction.

In the year of the pandemic, I spend hours every day outside of school playing games like Minecraft, Valorant, and Rocket League.

And I was not the only one.

Studies show that 94% of adolescents, on average, spent 18 hours a week on gaming during the pandemic.

And I was on the higher side of this average.

Many kids and adults are wasting their lives playing video games.

Playing video games in moderation may work for some as long as it does not impact their goals. However, for most, the addictive aspect of the video game makes it hard to stop playing.

Especially when for most people, video games are more compelling than their actual life.

Most people don’t have goals, so they don’t view video games from a healthy lens.

For instance, if you had a goal of reaching 10k a month by the end of the year and you have specific benchmarks you need to hit by certain times.

2.5 hours of video games would likely be detrimental.

But if you don’t view video games through the lens of your goal, you would have no way to relate to video games as useful or not applicable.

I always wondered why these games were more compelling than my actual life. From my research, I think there are 7 core principles of video games that make them so compelling.

This newsletter will explain how I intend to apply these seven principles to gamify my life.

These principles are used to create addiction in millions of kids and adults worldwide today. However, if you apply these to your life, I believe you will have more clarity, purpose, and progress in your pursuits.

Video games inherently induce a flow state

You may have heard of Flow State before; if not, you can check out my full newsletter on accessing Flow State here.

There are three foundational triggers to Flow State:

• Challenge/Skills Balance

• Immediate Feedback

• Clear Goals

Most video games use these triggers much more than in most areas of life.

For instance, a video game has clear goals, such as completing a question, ranking up, or reaching a certain level.

Often, a skill-based system determines how the game places you.

Once you complete one level, you move to a new level, which is a more significant challenge.

You also get immediate feedback in most video games.

However, in life, there is often a lack of clarity about goals, no immediate feedback, and people are either too stressed out or bored with their work.

Without clear goals, people lack clarity and direction.

Without immediate feedback, people don’t know if their tactics are working.

Without a challenge/skills balance people are often bored or stressed.

The seven principles of gamifying your life

There are seven principles I have come across in video games that apply to life.

1. Clear Goals

This one has already been discussed, but it is crucial.

Without clear goals, you will have no reference point and will be highly uncertain, which will cause stress and anxiety. Clarity is one of the strongest motivators for action.

2. Reward Yourself

Now, this does not mean that if your goal is to lose weight. When you go to the gym and eat properly, you should reward yourself with cake.

Many people make this mistake. This type of reward would be like if a video rewarded you for completing a level by setting you back a level.

You want rewards that don’t inhibit but motivate further progress towards a goal.

For example, if your goal is to run 5 miles weekly for a month. If you complete 2 months of this running, you may reward yourself with new running shoes.

This type of reward further motivates you and creates a positive feedback loop in your brain for the action of running.

3. Break down your goals

Having clear goals is great, but if you don’t break down your bigger goals into actionable smaller goals, you will have no idea how to start pursuing them.

For instance, in a video game, a goal may be to complete quest 1.

Now, that quest can break down into smaller goals such as:

Talk to the wizard on Diagon Alley

Buy your first broomstick

Buy your first wand

Buy your books for your classes

Go to the Hogwarts Train and board it.

These smaller goals are actionable steps you need to take to complete the larger quest of going to Hogwarts.

You can do the same with your goals.

For instance, if you aim to gain 100 Twitter followers in the next two weeks.

Your actionable smaller goals may be to:

Reply 50 times a day

Post 3 times a day

Send 3 DMs

In the real world, focusing on input goals rather than outcomes is better. While outcomes are necessary as a reference point, they are not guaranteed.

In most video games, you will be rewarded if you do certain activities. This differs from the real world, where you often need faith, and it is not always clear if your inputs are reaping the benefits.

4. Track your daily inputs

In video games, especially RPG games, there is often a progress bar or backlog of all the tasks and activities you have completed over the past days, weeks, and months.

This helps us to track and recognize our progress.

Often in life, we go through the motions and never track what we did. It is crucial as without tracking your activities, you will have no idea what is working or what is not.

One way I plan to do this is by journalling the activities I completed at the end of the day.

5. Create Variety and Novelty

In video games, there is often an element of Novelty and Variety. For instance, when you finish one level of the game, you unlock a new level or a different level. Variety and Novelty are some of the strongest producers of dopamine.

I use this principle by choosing to write and expand my consciousness. When I discovered new angles and ways to approach things through research and study, I felt the power of novelty.

The power of novelty can also help make you feel that you have exerted less energy.

For instance, if you change your work location, there will be novelty, and you will likely feel a burst of energy due to the new location.

6. Make your progress visible

This point is similar to tracking your daily inputs. By making your progress visible, you will feel more accomplished and strengthen the identity you are trying to create.

For instance, you could have a physical habit tracker where you check off the habits you have completed. Many video games make your progress visible, which is helpful for positive reinforcement.

Think about if you were in the gym and you wanted to build a certain type of physique. If you started seeing your physique change to what you wanted, you would want to continue working out.

Visible progress is a great motivator for continuing to take action.

7. View resistance as powerups

Many people view resistance as something to shy away from.

This is the wrong mindset. When you overcome that resistance, you often feel empowered and unstoppable. This helps create a positive self-image and makes you want to keep going.

In video games, overcoming challenges often rewards you with a power-up, such as a new item or weapon. In life, overcoming resistance builds character, strength, motivation, and self-esteem.

For instance, I run 3x a week. Many days, I am on the treadmill with half a mile left to run. I feel like getting off, and I start to cope, saying that I have done enough. When I push through the last half a mile, I feel unstoppable and proud that I have completed what I said I would do, even though there was resistance.

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter!