Gamification

The powerful process of turning life into games

Gamification

The art of making a game out of something in order to make it more enjoyable and/or to produce different (usually better) outcomes.

I approach almost everything I do seriously. It serves me well almost all the time. I magnify the gravity of a situation as much as possible, this puts maximal pressure on me to perform in the situation, which leads to the ‘best’ outcomes, i.e. I win the situation.

Some situations are not to be won or lost though. Some are merely to be enjoyed, others are to be played with: any outcome is fruitful by virtue of that which you experience in the process of getting to it.

In these situations, gamify. Approaching such situations seriously will limit you. You will be more rigid in your approach and create a tunnel of action, which will shut out many possibilities from playing out. By gamifying the situation however, you maximise the possibilities that flow from it because you have loosened the reigns on your agendas and intentions - thereby lowering the stakes. You do not care so much about what happens: it’s just a game.

Two examples where gamification pays significant dividends:

• Flirting and approaching

• Stretching and mobility

Flirting and Approaching

This by nature needs to be playful. Trying to approach and flirt with girls too seriously is a non-starter: it puts too much pressure on the situation, making it formal and sterile. The aim is to bounce energies to see if they match, and more importantly to have fun - it should not be a painful process.

You will get more girls’ numbers, more dates, and again most importantly have more fun approaching girls if you gamify it: “How many numbers can I get in one trip out the house? What’s the most outrageous thing I can get away with saying? How many a smile can I get returned?”. Gamifying it will lower the stakes. You will therefore not just have more fun approaching girls, you will be x10 more charismatic and charming, and be a whole lot more ‘successful’ as a result.

Stretching and Mobility

When you lift, you are looking to get stronger and add muscle. These are tangible goals that can be measured by specific metrics. The process also needs to be intense to be successful, i.e. you need to lift hard.

Stretching and mobilising is the complete opposite. You are looking to liberate the body. The goal is freedom and therefore the process needs to be free too. You stick to a strict regimen when it comes to lifting, to ensure intensity and measure. With stretching however, you need to create the most unlimited process possible for you to explore the body and find the points of limitation. The ways in which the body can move are abundant. By following a strict stretching regimen you leave too much untapped. The goal is not intensity in one place, it is literally and metaphysically mobility between places.

When you approach a stretching or mobility ‘session’ you need to do so playfully with an open mind. The body will lead you to where you need to work. Approaching it seriously will literally create tension in the body too: the antithesis of what you want for it in this circumstance.

These are just two examples where gamification has benefitted me recently, but there is room (and need) for gamification in every area of your life where a win vs. a loss is not specifically and rigidly defined - and even in those cases too sometimes.

Experiment with the power of play. Where a process feels painful: gamify. Alchemise it from something painful into the most fun and exciting game possible. ‘Better’ results will likely be yielded and if not, you will simply have more fun.

Gamify, gamify, gamify, and have a blessed week.