I’m reading this book called SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient – Powered by the Science of Games- by Jane McGonigal. It’s about how to become the best version of yourself through living life with a gameful mindset.
Think about it: when we play games, we actively seek out challenges. If we fail those challenges, we try again, and keep trying because that’s the point of the game! Why can’t we go through life that way?
Starting on Sunday, I decided to take the lessons I am learning in this book to heart. If I want to feel great, be fit, and be surrounded by great people; I have to put myself into that position and start that challenge. I started a plant based diet where I eat little to no animal products to keep me from feeling so sluggish all the time. I’ve started studying for my license again. Almost half of the people who take it for the first time fail, including myself. I failed when I took it last year. Now I am preparing to take it again. This time I have a better mindset about it. This time I am trying to take a gameful approach to it. Treating each study session like a challenge to unlock a new level of knowledge.
What about relationships? Why should I spend so much time in relationships with family or friends or social media comments that don’t make me happy? Why am I wasting time on these games that do not give me joy or fulfillment? Why should I give energy where it doesn’t reciprocate? I don’t owe anyone anything. I owe myself to live to my full potential and that’s what I intend to do. Starting this week, I am choosing me. I am doing small challenges each day that will add up to help me reach my goal.
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One of the quests in the Superbetter book was to discover what/who my “bad guys are”. Bad Guys are my “inner demons”, the things that keep me from reaching my goals by consuming my mind and distracting me from why I’m really here. My top Super Bad Guys are:
- LAZY SCRUB BUM (characteristics: sloth, laziness, procrastination)
- PURPOSELESS CONSUMER (characteristics: eating just because food is there, senselessly scrolling through social media, engaging in conversations that aren’t beneficial, watching TV all day)
- SAD REIGNA ((named after Blood Reigna from The 100)(characteristics: mom guilt, feeling like a bad partner, feelings of not being good enough, feeling like a failure, feeling like I’m wasting time when I do things I enjoy, feeling like others are against me, feeling guilty when one of the other bad guys wins a round))
~ We had to come up with silly names for them because that’s what would make it more gameful. In order to beat them, I have to avoid them, resist them, adapt to them, challenge them, convert them, or some combination.
Another quest was to fill in the blank, “I want to be someone who spends time and energy each day on…”.
The quest asked, if I had an extra 3 hours in each day, what (from a long list of items) would I spend my extra time on. I picked:
- Physical self-care
- Education/training/learning
- Social life
After reflecting on my top 3, I immediately felt bad. Why didn’t I choose parenting or family or spending more time with my partner? Am I selfish because I want to spend more time on myself? I was down about this for a while. Then I realized that SAD REIGNA was trying to get at me!! How am I being bad mom and partner because I have goals for myself??? How am I a bad mom because I am showing my daughter that she can do everything she puts her mind to?? How am I a bad partner because I want time to myself to reach my goals??? I stopped SAD REIGNA right in her tracks! I give my family plenty of time and the question was if I had 3 EXTRA hours in a day, not to take hours away from my day. So TAKE THAT SAD REIGNA !!
These Bad Guys really could give my values and goals a run for their money. But now that I am fully aware of all this and the things that I want to peruse, I can clearly make at least one or 2 hours a day dedicated to my values and fulfilling those goals.
BTW, if anyone would like to be my ally during my journey of becoming super better, just message me! The more, the merrier!
I hope you check out this book. No, I am not getting paid to talk about this book. I got it for free from a coworker. Plus, I am not important enough yet to review/advertise things for my own personal gain. I just want to share this book because I want it to make a difference to someone like it is making a difference to me. I’m not even finished with the book and I am already becoming SUPERBETTER!!
Anyway, they have many quests and challenges to teach you how to deal with stress- like breathing techniques, diverting your attention from what is hurting you (mentally or physically). This book is for people who are cancer patients, people who have traumatic injuries, depression, PTSD, and for other people who just want to be the best version of themselves.
I haven’t been this excited about a novel since I was in middle school and I really think it is making a difference in my attitude about dealing with stress and other things. Let me know if you’ve read this book/if you decide to. I’d love to discuss it with you!
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**champagne and confetti**
Jalynn
pmreflection.com 