According to Wikipedia, games are a universal part of human experience and present in all cultures. All games have goals (the “win”), rules, challenge and interaction. Games require skill, strategy or luck, or some combination of all three.
Isn’t that a perfect definition of life?
The good news is that in the Game of Life, the player gets to define the “win.” And can, if they are willing, control the skill and strategy with which he or she plays the game. Just like a football player can train to perfect his physical skills and study film and opponents to perfect his mental or strategic skills, participants in the game of Life can train to perfect their Life skills.
The first step, of course, is to define the “win.” Because Life is a very loooonnngggg game, while it’s important to have some sense of what you want people to say about you at your 85th birthday party, you’ll have a lot of interim goals along the way. Often, defining the “win” is the most difficult. It requires thoughtful introspection and the willingness to be brutally honest with yourself.
Once you decide what your “wins” are, you can train, practice, and rehearse the strategic and effective Thinking 2 Steps Ahead process to determine if every move (action, resource allocation, interpersonal interaction, etc.) you make helps advance you to your win, or sets you back in achieving that win.
For instance, for a student who decides that she wants to pursue a medical career, choosing to take elective classes in music theory rather than biology would not be a good example of Thinking 2 Steps Ahead. Or a man trying to convince a woman that he is good husband material would not advance his cause by making a pass at her best friend.
Have you thought about what your “win” is? If not, how do you decide to spend your time, energy and money? Stay tuned to learn and develop a new, very simple yet highly effective Life Skill – Thinking 2 Steps Ahead.