Despite what many people will tell you, there’s more to video games than just a diversion. Gaming may be a recreational pastime, but just like other hobbies, it can teach you a number of useful life lessons. Here are eight extremely useful life lessons we’ve learned from playing games over the years.
What lessons have you learned from gaming? Tell us in the comments!
The things that you find now will come in handy later
In almost every game, we find things that we have to save for later. Whether it’s a key to open a door later, a powerful potion that gets us through a boss fight, or just a cryptic hint that lets us progress, games are constantly giving us things that are later useful. The same is true of life. The work ethic you learn at your first job will serve you for your whole career, and the values your parents taught you will be of constant use in how you live your life.
Being a team player
Whether it’s team-based shooters like Battlefield or MMOs like World of Warcraft, teamwork is essential to success at the highest level. Learning to work together to achieve a shared goal is a necessity to success in many things, whether it’s sports, careers, or volunteer work. You’ll likely never have a job that requires you to shoot stormtroopers in the snow, but the teamwork lessons you learn doing that can be a boon in other endeavors.
Use the pause button – it’s there for a reason
We’ve all been there. You’ve been gaming for hours, and it’s time to take a break for something to eat, or just to get up an stretch a bit. You mash the pause button, and go about your business, almost without thinking. Sometimes in your life outside gaming, you need to hit the pause button as well. When stress, grief, or other concerns seem overwhelming, it’s a good idea to take a break, walk away from everything for a short while, and just refocus.
Don’t help those who don’t help themselves
If there’s one thing that’s nearly universally annoying to gamers, it’s escort quests. Why? Because in most cases, the person you’re escorting is useless, runs into trouble, or otherwise gets themselves killed. It’s frustrating, and it’s not fun. Not surprisingly, you’ll find yourself in similar situations in real life. A great guideline to use before deciding to pitch in and help someone is to look and see how they’ve tried to help themselves. If they’re constantly asking for help without trying to help themselves, it’s best to avoid them.
Failure is not the end, it’s an opportunity to try again
How many times have you tried to beat a game and failed? Even if you don’t play difficult games like Dark Souls, chances are you’ve failed hundreds, if not thousands of times. But here’s the thing: in most of those cases, you went on to beat the game. That’s the lesson for life as well. Even though you may fail, it doesn’t mean that’s the end. It’s merely an opportunity to brush yourself off, refocus, and have another go.
Don’t be too trusting of people you don’t know
Between all the hacks, account compromises, phishing scams, and other despicable things going on, online trust is at an all-time low these days. Between scams like those, and the in-game scams that can happen in MMOs, you’re right to be wary of strangers. Of course, in your real life, it’s good to be wary of strangers as well. Keep your passwords and your personal info safe, and if someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true, remember that it probably is.
If there are no obstacles in your way, you may be headed in the wrong direction
We’ve all experienced that moment when we’re running the wrong way in a game, and we only discover it because there are no enemies to shoot, puzzles to solve, or obstacles to overcome. We immediately think, “I’m going the wrong way.” In real life, things work much the same way. When things are too easy, or there’s no adversity, there’s an excellent chance that you’re headed in the wrong direction.
Don’t give up, no matter how bleak things look
Sure, Dark Souls is hard. It’s one of the hardest games out there. But you stuck with it, pulled together the knowledge you needed, and finally beat the game. Remember how great you felt? The same thing happens in real life. There is always adversity to overcome, and most things aren’t easy. But when you persevere and accomplish things, the excitement you feel is totally worth it. As former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said, “If you’re going through Hell, keep going.”
