Traditional thinking encourages us to slave ourselves. To win, you must work hard is the adage. But is that an optimal viewpoint? While good old fashion hard work certainly has its place, we should not put it on a pedestal nor should we make it a central focus of life. You are not put on this planet to work hard. You are here to live!
Hard work is a part of life, a small part if anything. Life is much bigger than working hard to achieve some goal in order to prove yourself. There is no need to prove anything, greatness is already within you, no matter how dormant it may seem. The question is not how do I become great but what do I want to be?
Between what you are now and what you want to be, there is a gap. The size of this gap varies from person to person. The bigger the gap, the more "work" you have to do. There is two ways to tackle the challenge of becoming the ideal self. The first approach is to tackle it using brute force. You work really hard, you burn the midnight oil, you sacrifice your social life, etc. The second, and certainly the one I advocate, is to approach this as a game.
The difference between these two approaches is not trivial. The first approach will kill the child in you. You will become strong but also a calloused individual lacking richness in personality. Everything in life to you will be about a goal. You will only want to surround yourself with other narrow minded goal driven individuals. Life to you will be a battle, a fight, something serious. You will have "grown up".
The second approach is to see things for what they are- a game. No matter what your journey is on earth, you are heading in only one direction, the grave. You will die. Your life here is a passing journey, a game.
There are many different kind of games. Some journeys are about relationships, others are wild adventures, some are closer to horror movies, etc. Yes, games come in all genres and difficulty levels but they are still games nonetheless.
The character you choose to play in this multiplayer game of earth is up to you. Forming this character is where all the fun is. Part of the process is hard work, but don't rely on that alone. They are techniques, tools, leverage, and hacks. Find them all, use them, and most importantly, have fun!
Did you know the biggest difference between smart and relatively dumb animals is play. Smart animals play! A crocodile don't fucking play, but a tiger does.
