Jane McGonigal is the first person in the world to receive a Ph.D. for her study of games and their impact on our lives. Unlike many, she doesn’t see games as a waste of time. Her research shows that games help solve real problems, from breaking bad habits to fighting dangerous diseases.
Once the game saved Jane herself, and then helped another 400,000 people. That’s how Jane realized: living playfully is an idea that can change everything. We can create the game we want to play ourselves and win the grand prize.
Jane the Concussion Slayer
In the summer of 2009, Jane McGonigal suffered a concussion. She suffered from constant headaches, nausea and dizziness. My head was in a fog. Jane couldn’t read, write, run, work, drink coffee. She was overcome with despair. And then a brilliant idea came to mind.
Jane told herself: either I will kill myself, or I will turn life into a game.
By that time, Jane had already studied the psychology of games for 10 years and was sure that those who played games – computer, board, sports or other – were more creative, purposeful and energetic problem solvers. She decided to turn these features to her advantage and created a game called Jane the Concussion Slayer.
Calling in her sister Kelly (by the way, the author of the bestselling book Willpower) and husband Kiyash , Jane began a battle with the “bad guys” – phenomena that could slow down the healing process. She also collected and used power-ups—anything that made her feel better: a five-minute game with a dog, eating walnuts (good for the brain), two walks around the house with her husband.
Despite the simplicity of the game, after a couple of days the fog in my head dissipated. Depression and anxiety subsided. The headaches did not go away, but Jane stopped suffering. She felt that fate was in her hands, and began to treat herself as a strong person.
SuperBetter
A few months later, Jane posted a short video on her blog explaining the rules of the game. Not everyone is familiar with the symptoms of a concussion, so Jane renamed the game SuperBetter (translated from English as “much better”).
Soon Jane began to receive messages from people all over the world. They invent their own secret identities, look for allies and fight the “bad guys”. They became superheroes in the fight against depression and fears, post-operative and chronic pain. They managed to find a job after many years of failures, to establish relationships with loved ones. The players assured that they feel stronger and more courageous, better find a common language with friends and relatives. They became happier.
Reading the letters, Jane realized that to improve life through the game, you do not need to go through illness or injury. The game is a tool for personal growth. With it, we can fight failure, laziness, bad habits and everything that prevents us from living. We can turn life into a game – and win.
We start the game. Challenge yourself
An interesting fact: during the game, we never experience a sense of hopelessness. We focus on opportunities rather than threats and are less afraid of failure. Why? Because when we play, we consciously look for difficult problems, and we like to solve them. We don’t play to avoid defeat, but to find out what we are capable of. And we believe that victory is possible even in the most difficult conditions.
This approach can be applied in real life. It’s called taking on a challenge in the face of a threat.
A challenge can be anything that provokes a desire to test one’s strength and provides an opportunity for personal development. For example:
- change job
- Repay a loan
- Become a donor
- Start loving yourself
- Last 21 days without sugar
- Get rid of fatigue
- Start your own business and become inimitable
- stop being lazy
- Raise a Happy Successful Child
- Be the best version of yourself
- Quit smoking
- Start enjoying life
Find your challenge. If there was only one way for you to become stronger, happier, healthier, or braver, what would it be? Think and write.
Collect bonuses
A bonus is any positive action that you can easily perform. It causes pleasure, a surge of strength, a feeling of courage or support. It’s easy to use at no cost, and feel better anytime, anywhere, no matter what.
When Jane was dealing with the effects of a concussion, she came up with the following perks: watch YouTube videos of baby animals. Look out the window for 30 seconds. Hold your husband’s hand for six seconds. Eat 10 walnuts as they are good for the brain. Try to make your dog smile.
Collect bonuses that suit you and use at least three of them daily (or more).
Drink a glass of water. Sing as loud as possible. Take a dance break. Breathe fresh air for 30 seconds. Look out the window. Find something that quickly lifts your spirits and gives you a boost of energy. Use bonuses every time you need an incentive.
Exterminate the “bad guys”
We all know the “bad guys” in video games. These are the obstacles that force us to be creative and smart. In everyday life, they act the same way – they complicate it. But they also help develop the skills and strategies that make us smarter, stronger, and faster. This is how we can achieve bigger goals in the future.
To get better, fight the “bad guys”. These are any habits, symptoms, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that prevent you from becoming a superhero.
Here are some of the “bad guys” of SuperBetter players .
- Mr Vulcan. It erupts inside of me, making me say terrible things to my little children and my husband, whom I adore.
- Sirens luring into the elevator. They begin to sing sweetly every time I try to be more active and want to climb the stairs.
- Lord Impossible. If I plan to do something good, he comes to me and says it’s impossible.
- Four of the devil’s foods: pizza, soda, marshmallows and hot chocolate.
- Nocturnal Computosaurus and Nocturnal Telesaurus .
- Snuff , dragon of sorrow.
Find your “bad guys” and fight them at least once a day. If you didn’t find them today, you’re either a world champion superhero or (more likely) you weren’t careful enough.
Come up with tasks
On the way of any hero, countless trials await. From Rocky Balboa to Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games – all heroes perform many small feats and missions. With each feat, they become a little smarter, stronger, braver and more prepared for the big challenges ahead.
Every time you decide to do something—and do it successfully—you are reminding yourself of power over your actions, thoughts, and feelings.
This process is called purposeful action – taking small steps towards goals and values every day, even when it is difficult. Completing just one task a day can make a big difference in how you feel about life satisfaction.
Here are examples of tasks:
- Leave a nice note under your daughter’s pillow
- on Facebook asking me to share a link to an article or video that would help me learn something interesting
- Donate 100 rubles to a charitable foundation
- Bake cookies and give them to someone
- Do exercises
Come up with your own task and complete it in the next 24 hours.
epic victory
The goal of the game is to win an epic victory. This should be an important goal that will show you that you have become a superhero.
The goal should be realistic, challenging, energizing and non-violent. Here are examples of epic SuperBetter wins .
- Live one day without feeling bored (challenge: depression).
- Sleep one night without an iPod (challenge: insomnia).
- Keep up with your husband while walking around the lake (challenge: get fit).
- Dance in front of people (challenge: social phobia, low self-esteem).
- Meditate for 30 minutes straight (challenge: feeling anxious).
Find a goal that will be an epic victory for you.
Keep score
What is a game without a score? Be sure to lead it. Lots of ways. You can count used bonuses and battles with “bad guys”. You can count completed tasks. You can set records (10 bonuses per day!) Here is an easy way to calculate daily points .
How to manage the mood lift, or the Wellbeing Formula
“The biggest discovery of my time is that a person can change his life by changing his mind,” said the American philosopher and psychologist William James . Throughout our lives, we ride the mood elevator, periodically finding ourselves on the lowest (depression) or high (euphoria, happiness) floors. But we can learn to push buttons so that we only stop where we want to. In The Mood Elevator, Larry Senn talks about managing feelings and emotions. We are all at some set point, and first we need to understand how far we have moved away from it.
What is a set point
If we talk about the mood elevator and the floors on which it stops, then the advantages of stopping at the top are obvious. Fortunately, most people are born with peace of mind. We are built by default to spend a lot of time on the upper floors. This is our lair – and it’s just a thought away.
Doctors assure that everyone has their own set point. For example, regarding thermoregulation, this is a personal temperature index, which is close to the norm of 36.6 ° C, but it can be either slightly higher or lower. The same with our weight: there is a certain personal norm, around which it fluctuates and to which we constantly strive.
The same set point is in the mood lift: we correct it with the help of life experiences, which we consciously receive. Sometimes, it is necessary to correct the habitual mental state, changing the type of behavior in a certain way. Sometimes it’s enough just to keep an eye on the physical condition – we are well aware of this, but we often neglect it, because we are either too busy or too frivolous.
Studies show that people are more likely to catch colds when they are tired. And we often adopt someone else’s bad mood. When we are physically exhausted, we tend to be more sensitive to what others say and tend to take it personally. We become less patient and responsive, we have too much to bear on us. And because thought processes slow down when tired, we lose the ability to be wise about the situation. Our efficiency decreases, and this, in turn, increases stress and pressure. It is much easier to cope with the ups and downs of life if we are in good physical shape and have a good rest.
Luckily, there are a few specific ways you can take care of yourself to stay energized for as long as possible.
Stretching and recovery
To achieve the best results during training, you need to understand that both the body and the mind require not only exercise, but also recovery. The cycle is the most natural form of functioning of the organism. To be as effective as possible, you need to alternate stretching with recovery – and this applies to so many aspects of life.
Experienced athletes know exactly how it works. Stretching means stepping out of your comfort zone, expanding your ability mentally, emotionally and physically. Weightlifters, for example, devote one day to working out the muscles, and the other to rest, thanks to which the body is restored and becomes stronger. And tennis players take short breaks right during intense training, as they spend a lot of energy. Many even have special rituals, such as tightening the strings on a racquet or poking a ball in between particularly strenuous sets.
The idea behind physical fitness applies to mental fitness as well. Being in a good mood—we are curious/interested, flexible, hopeful/optimistic, resourceful, creative/innovative—involves stretching activities: learning new things, doing difficult tasks. This also includes situations in which we take reasonable risks, whether it be work or personal life. Studies show that these types of activities load the brain, which means that young cells are produced in it. This protects us from mental disorders . The rest that the brain receives during meditation also improves its functioning.
However, you need to ensure that by “stretching” the brain, you do not burn out – for this it is important to recover mentally: sleep, play sports and spend as much time as possible in a state that guarantees a good mood. It is important to find time for self-renewal, as well as everything that is on the floors marked ” grateful ̆”, ” appreciative ̆”, ” patient ̆/ understanding ̆” and “with a sense of humor”.
Ways to restore strength
1. The easiest way to restore strength is to sleep.
After resting, we feel more alert and wiser, our abilities improve. And therefore, the natural change of day and night, as well as the instinctive circadian rhythms of a person, has been determining the most diverse processes in society for more than one thousand years. But in this unrestrained, restless world, where the rapidly developing Internet technologies set the tone, most suffer from lack of sleep. To say it’s just annoying is an understatement. sleep disorders lead to many health problems: high blood pressure, increased risk of obesity, diabetes, strokes and cardiovascular disease. In addition, it is directly related to alcoholism and bipolar affective disorder . As medical practice shows, up to 90% of adults suffering from depression have problems with sleep.
If you are one of those millions of people ̆ who constantly lack sleep, prioritize – set aside the mandatory seven to eight hours of sleep in your schedule, and make it a good ̆ habit ̆. If necessary, change the conditions in which you fall asleep so that they contribute to rest and recovery: hang blackout curtains on the window, remove the TV and computer from the bedroom, install soundproofing and make the air temperature in the room comfortable ̆.
2. Playing sports is a very important component of any plan if its goal is a longer life and maintaining health.
The results showed that even those who do not exercise much, the risk of heart problems is less than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle.
Research led by Professor Arthur Cramer of the University of Illinois has shown that simple aerobic exercise (such as vigorous walking for 45 minutes three times a week) improves memory by 20%. And a full year of intense exercise can give a 70-year-old man the state of mind he was in his thirties: a stronger memory, concentration when planning, the ability to do several things at once. As Kramer said, ” Think of training as an opportunity to change the molecular structure of the cells that are responsible for cognitive abilities.”
If you are suffering from physical , mental , or emotional fatigue—as well as the fact that you are increasingly moving down in the mood elevator to the lower floors— try to make exercise regular. You will be amazed at the positive results.
3. There is a direct relationship between what you eat and where your mood lift is heading.
The biggest problem is highly processed food with lots of salt, fat and sugar. Because of this, many people gain weight so easily and often put their cardiovascular system at risk. As a result, strokes, erectile dysfunction and other ailments occur that interfere with the normal functioning of the body, worsen the quality of life and lead to early death.
Most diets are not designed for the long term. Experience shows that in order to maintain health and the desired weight, it is important to eat right all the time, and not go on a diet from time to time. It will take some time to develop a nutrition system and start following it. The main thing is to consciously approach the choice of food and try to avoid what destroys from the inside. Over time, healthy eating will become a way of life.