Becoming Better Than Better: Part Deux

So it appears that Wednesday night/Thursday morning is looking like my Superbetter update. If you don't know what Superbetter is, go here. Also check out the website, Superbetter.com. I'm still going strong, adding more things to do, making my "quests" against Procrastination just a little more challenging each day, but still being compassionate with myself when I fall short. One of the things I'd like to do is write more than once a week on this blog. I'm sure Superbetter can help.

OK, enough of the diary entry stuff. My intention with this blog is to provide thoughts which cause one to think, not "how's my day going" content. To that end, I've had a realization since "playing" Superbetter: I'm a gamer. To me, a "gamer" has connoted a video game player, or a role playing gamer, or maybe even a board game player, none of which I play on a regular basis. But I do and have played games. I've played Tetris to the point it gets boring, even with the pieces speedily dropping. I play Solitaire to pass the time. I've gotten into SecondLife a few times. One summer I wasted playing EverQuest. That summer, I felt horrible and very unproductive. An entire summer gone, as I killed rats and orcs. I even had the thought: "What if life were more like a game?" But I had the thought in the context of writing fiction, not in the context of providing an internet platform. Occasionally, I've thought about getting a video game console or joining a role playing group, but I knew those are temptations I shouldn't follow. The whole point of telling this is to show that I am, indeed, a gamer. What Superbetter is doing, I think, is providing a useful outlet to a potentially harmful habit. Instead of wandering around and killing orcs all day in a virtual environment, I'm using that time to achieve my life's goals.

It's curious, really, how much we do play games. As children, we play often and heartily. Biologists tell us games are useful in preparing the young skills needed as adults, regardless of species. But even as adults, games matter and can help us. Life itself is the biggest game of them all. Superbetter is helping me see that.