Are You a "Thief"?

“Good artists copy, great artists steal.” - Pablo Picasso

Yesterday I had a match in Heroes of the Storm. We lost. But I had Medivh hero in the other team, who become MVP. What did I do after the match? Opened the talents screen and stole his talent’s setup. Then made 3 matches with them to get the feeling of what’s different. Let me give you another example. I struggled to stay in top 200 in PvP battles in Galaxy of Heroes. Then I started searching in YouTube for other gamers which play SWGoH to see what they are doing differently. Then I applied some of the strategies I saw in those videos and guess what? I’m now constantly there and improving.

It’s the same in martial arts. You have to steal the technique from your sifu/master whatever you call him. My Sifu Bozhidar Stanchev always tells us that you have to first see what’s been shown to you and then imitate (steal) it as close as possible. It’s the same in many other aspects of life, but I guess martial arts and arts in general is where it’s more obvious.

So, there is no shame in stealing from another person’s strategy and try his approach. Just make sure you adapt those strategies to your own personal style. In case you have doubts refer to the quote at the beginning of the post.

Let me know what skill you’ve "stolen" lately in the comments below.

Keep learning and may the Force be with you!

Just One More Quest ...

Here it is! My first negative post about games. I’m often in a situation where I should clean up the room, wash the dishes, finish a book and instead I say something like this: “Let me just pass this quest in Dragon Age and I’ll do the task.” This is called procrastination and as promised previous week, here it is.

So, is procrastination good or bad? It depends, as always. It could help you keep your emotional wellbeing, or it could just delay your progress in life. We all procrastinate, except for those rare unicorns which are some action machines (I’m still to meet someone like that). First thing first. You have to be aware that it’s procrastination. On this part I really can’t help you much. But once you’re aware, you can change it and I have a cure. I’m still struggling to apply this strategy, but when I do it works as magic. What’s the strategy? Okay, no more suspense. Reverse the order. Now I’m hearing you say “What?!”. Use games as a reward AFTER doing your task.

Here is an example from my life. This blog you are currently reading took me 1 year to push myself to make it and start writing. Why? Because there was always one more quest to do in you choose the game. How did I make it happen? I decided that for each post I’ll be able to play as much as I want for the rest of the day. Do I play that much? No! But the idea that you can do this is invigorating itself. My point is that now I’m trying to do the work and then play games as a reward.

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you in the comments below.

Keep learning and may the Force be with you!

Engagement or Thought. At Which Are You Better?

You can’t play games and not be engaged! That’s why so many of us gamers become so good at it. When you’re engaged, you remember 90% of the information provided to you. That’s why it’s so important to pick the right games. Before you object to this last statement. Right game is different for each one of us.

“Clarity Comes from Engagement, Not Thought.” – Marie Forleo

Let’s get back to games and engagement. I usually write how you could transfer what you’ve learned in games in your real life. How the heck could you transfer engagement? I’m glad you asked! Here is what I’ve found is working for me – you just make every activity a game. Before you do that, you must discover some answers for yourself.

1. What’s most engaging in a game for you? Could be achievements, progress, winning.
2. How can you apply those motivations to move you through your To-Do list?

Okay okay, I know this sounds too theoretical. Here is what I do. I found out that making progress, evolving and completing achievements are the most beneficial things for me in a game. So, my To-Do list for the week (I also found by trial and error that week period works best for me) has some tasks and how they are measured: hours, numbers of training sessions, actions to complete. So, next thing is I make up a game where I have targets (achievements) and I also have to check each session, hour and so on (progress). There are two more elements which I’m using. First one is, every time I reach a milestone I reward myself with some game time, reading or whatever leisure experience I find most useful. Second, I’m doing a review every week (I admit I’ve stolen this practice from SCRUM methodology) and make small tweaks and improvements here and there.

The more you act, the clearer your steps to achieving your goals will become. Transfer this skill from games to your life and let me know the results.

* One last caution remark. Engaging in a game could be a great experience, but you must make sure you’re not using games as a procrastination mechanism. More on this topic next week.

Keep learning and may the Force be with you!

Is It Ever Going to End?

Ever heard of Don’t Starve? If not go on and search it on google, buy it on Steam and do everything you can to play this amazing game! Why I’m so excited about it? Because it’s different. Survival adventure with lots of funny moments in it. Amazing characters and wide range of things to combine and discover. The game has seasons, just like in nature. Also, you must give your very best to survive. I was playing it last evening with a couple of friends (yes, the game has multiplayer) when it suddenly struck me. It’s so similar to how things change in life and yet I’ve missed to see this for so long.

Here are a couple of examples: stock exchange, seasons, ups and downs in our lives. But why am I telling you all this? Because Don’t Starve teaches us one very important principle. Ups and downs will happen in our lives, they are inevitable, what we can do is be prepared. In the game, you prepare for the winter season by creating a warm head, having a beard, gathering enough food. For the summer, by storing ice from the winter, making a tent to keep the sun away and many other things. And as in life, in the game the winter seems to last forever. So, the takeaway for me was: no matter how dark the time seems to be, there will always be a shift at some point and you’ll experience the warmth of the sun on your skin. I’m having lots of those stuck moments when I’m trying to learn something new, or when the stock market changes directions. I’m still trying to stay positive and prepare for the bright sun and as expected it doesn’t happen every time.

I’d love to hear your experience with cyclic events. Do share them in the comments below.

Keep learning, stay positive and may the Force be with you!

P.S. And one more funny example of a cyclic event! (this is me trying not to break any bones)