In my opinion, the saying, “Life is a game of chess,” really fails to take into account all of life’s depths (good and bad). And, if you’re viewing life as a game, you’ve likely already lost—or, at the very least, you feel lost.
Here’s what I see as the main problem with the gamification of one’s existence: games adhere to rules, life adheres to reactions.
It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’re doing, how you react to the unexpected, the unintentional, and the undesirable shit that life throws at you will have a far greater impact on your future than the situations themselves. Life doesn’t care if you play by the rules because life doesn’t even know that rules exist. Life doesn’t adhere to regulations and time constraints because life is as infinite as the universe is unknown.
Okay, let’s agree for a second that life is indeed a game and you’ve decided to buy into the rules and regulations set forth: Who is creating these rules? The government? Your parents? Your HOA? Your boss? Internet strangers? Some dude who sends you emails every Monday?
Do you really want any of these people determining whether or not you “win” at life?
(I hope not.)
And, if so, what does “winning” even get you? “Congratulations, you’ve impressed more neighbors and checked more boxes than anyone else in a two-mile radius.”
Is that really a victory? A victory over what? A victory over whom?
Take it from someone who used to be very much into the game: there’s nothing to gain and even less to win when the entirety of your life is based on outside opinion.
So, rather than viewing life as a game, I think it’s best that we view life as a form of art. And, by simply living, you become the artist. I like this view for many reasons: There are no rules to art. There are no restrictions. There are no timelines. Nobody can tell you when a piece of art is “done”—that’s for you, the artist, to decide.
The best part: EVERYTHING can be fucking art. The way you talk, the way you walk, the way you dress, and even the way you handle stress (trust me, nobody has more aura than an individual who walks through the fires of life seemingly unscathed).
Let me further illustrate this comparison for you with some quick definitions:
art; /ärt/ noun: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination
“The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination”—I mean, c’mon, doesn’t that sound like a dope way to live your life?
game; /gām/ noun: a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck
“According to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck”—fuuuuuck, that sounds like a rather lame way to go through life, right?
Now, I know someone is rightfully thinking, “‘Life is a game’ simply means that life is about strategy and moving forward—isn’t that good and true?”
Well, yeah, but isn’t that true with art as well? Anyone who has ever attempted to create something worth a damn knows that the ability to see the bigger picture and maintain a vision is perhaps the most crucial element of creation. And what bigger picture is there to maintain than that of your own life? Additionally, when life is viewed as an art form, there’s the added perspective of turning every mistake into something of beauty. I think the great afro-haired philosopher Bob Ross said it best:
“Anything we don't like, we'll turn into a happy little tree or something; we don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents.” —Bob Ross
Now, Ross was clearly no master of the Italian Renaissance (obviously that’s just my opinion because all art is subjective), but his work—and more importantly, his methods and views on life—are spot fucking on. The mindset of turning anything that you don’t like into something that you can be proud of is, without a doubt, the most powerful method of living that one can assume. Unlike a game, art allows you to adapt (and ignore rules) as you go—creating, re-creating, or even starting over, as often as necessary.
The truth is: strategy fades when tragedy strikes. When all that you’re left with is raw human emotion and pain, viewing life as a game is a guaranteed way to lose yourself. However, viewing life as art, is a beautiful way to (re)create yourself.
Lastly, I suppose if life were a game to be won, the only way to win is to stop playing the game that everybody else is playing . . .
Thanks for reading. As always, I appreciate your time and attention.
And, as Bob Ross would say, “Happy painting.”
-Kyle
Something my father told me when I was young, that I never understood until my late 20's, early 30's, - "Don't wanna lose? Don't play/fight/engage." what have you. He taught me a lot about situational awareness in all it's forms. not just from a defensive standpoint, but also about life in general, pattern recognition, anticipation given certain circumstances, good, bad, or otherwise.
I sobered up a little over 25 years ago, and those lessons of my youth, coupled with a completely different outlook on life have saved a lot of heartache and misery. These days all I'm looking to do is be useful. have purpose. I can't contribute in ways I used to, but really who can. in a very real sense, I'm not the same man I was yesterday. Some days, i fall short. I try to hold myself to standards that admittedly some days are beyond my ability, but it's always a learning process.
The only one I compete with these days lives between my ears. I'll never 'beat' him, but more often than not we c an cooperate to the benefit of those around us. that's enough most days.
Great call out on games being subject to rules. While we have "rules" in life (read, laws) for your own life and your own definition of "winning" it is largely up to you. How you view your life success is largely subjective, and if you live by someone elses rules? you'll always be coming up short... You need to define what success is, and then work towards your own definition