Pursuing Goals Like Playing A Video Game

Generation X has been called the "video game era" as this was the time when electronic entertainment got its start. While the precise dates that define the Generation X era are debated, the general range is from early 1960s to early 1980s. If you were born during this time, then you've most likely played video games in an arcade or at home with Atari, Nintendo, or Saga Genesis.

With most games, there are different levels to complete, and each level usually has a "boss" that you must defeat in order to reach another level. Each level starts easy and simple, and then becomes harder and more complicated as you near the game's completion. Or in other words, the closer you reach to your goal, the more challenges would be thrown at you.

Hardcore gamers would stick with a video game until they finish it. But for others, they would be stuck on one level for so long that they would eventually quit and play another game. If you think about it, life works the same way. When you first get started on your project, it's fun, easy, and simple. But as you progress further and further, things get more complicated. You would either stick it out and complete your task or give up.

I think about people who lose weight during their first week. For some people, they just dropped the weight like it was nothing. They barely did anything. Maybe they just cut out soda or alcohol and dropped 10 pounds their first week. Now, they are excited and living on Cloud 9. But then, the next week doesn't show dramatic weight-loss. Then life becomes busier, more and more things get in the way, and they finally get so discouraged that they just give up and pursue something else.

There is one popular 80s video game called Mega Man. Unlike other video games that automatically start you out on one level, Mega Man allows you to choose which level you want to start with. The problem, however, is that each "boss" of that level is very vulnerable to a particular weapon. You get this weapon when you defeat a boss. So in other words, if you start with a level where the boss isn't vulnerable to the weapon that you have, then it would be difficult to defeat that boss.

In Mega Man, you start off with your own natural weapon. You need to start with the level where the boss is vulnerable to your natural weapon. After you defeat that boss, you will acquire that boss' weapon. Now, you need to find a level where the boss would be vulnerable to your new weapon, and so on and so on. It's easy to defeat a boss if you have the right weapon.

Sometimes when we pursue a goal, we start off wrong. Somebody is 50 lbs overweight and wants to get a six-pack, so he starts doing sit-ups. He's starting off at the wrong level. He first needs to lose the weight, THEN he could hit those sit-ups. Or think about somebody who wants to start a business. She advertises her product, but doesn't have a product available! She needs to have an actual product FIRST, then she could advertise what she has to offer.

But like most video games, sometimes you don't have a choice of which level to choose from. You start out wherever you're forced to start. Your challenge would be to simply endure whatever obstacles are thrown at you with whatever you have available. Each level you've completed will come with experience that you could use to complete the next level. After completing Level 1, you now know what you could expect in Level 2. More experience makes you a better game player, and with endurance, you could finally complete the entire game.

Another popular game was Tetris. This game allowed you to choose how difficult or easy you want the game to be. If you're a beginner, the blocks come down slowly, giving you time to familiarize yourself with this game. Then there's the expert level where the blocks come down super fast. Sometimes, we try to go hard at first and wind up failing. We need to start at the easy level so we could get experience. Then when the expert level comes, we could complete it like a boss!

Whatever goals you have in life, you need to start off at the right level before moving up. Sometimes, you have to work your way up. Sometimes, you think you're so good that you don't need to start slowly, but then you wind up burning yourself out.  Sometimes, we want to go faster than we should. But one thing that video games have taught me is that you are never too good to start out slow.

If you want to know what it's like to have your butt kicked, then try playing on a level that you're not ready for. But in real life, try doing something new that you haven't prepared for. Try managing a bunch of employees when you barely have any work experience. Try working on a car engine when you don't even know how to change a tire. Try cooking a full meal when you don't even know how to operate a stove. Try driving a car when you don't even know how to control the steering wheel.

When you pursue something in life, start out on the RIGHT level. Always put the first things first. Start off right, and you could finish. Start off wrong, and you'll give up. Get the basics down first and you'll have what you need to complete your video game. And when you have finished the game, you could move on to the next game.