Choose the Right Games

(Friday Filosophy 9/01/23)

Happy Freakin’ Friday!

Greetings from Minneapolis where I'm competing in the World Series with my softball team.  If you're new here, every week I send you a postcard with a question, topic, or challenge to contemplate. Today let's explore the games you play.

We all have to play some games in this bigger game we call life.  If you want your kids to appreciate vegetables over Happy Meals, there's a game to play.  Want to find the love of your life?  That's probably going to require playing the dating game. The older I get, the more convinced I am that prosperity comes only after you mindfully decide which games are worth playing and which ones are too foolish to mess with.

Most people are playing the multiplayer games: Keeping up with the Joneses, public virtue signaling, and showing off your kid's good grades on social media. But most of the multiplayer games are a vapid journey to nowhere.

I think the games that matter most are the single player ones. These are the games where you're doing extra reps at the gym when there's no one to impress, making an anonymous donation that makes a difference, and doing the work that's required for self-mastery of something.  No one may be there to cheer. But sometimes cheering on yourself is the real game winner.

Peace,

-RG

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