GLITCH IN THE GAMES WE PLAY (thread)
There are 3 types of games all of us play:
1) Foundational
2) Covert
3) Willful
Each is different, but they share one very important characteristic that rules our lives and emotions. And it's wrecking us!
There are 3 types of games all of us play:
1) Foundational
2) Covert
3) Willful
Each is different, but they share one very important characteristic that rules our lives and emotions. And it's wrecking us!
1) Foundational games are ones we can't opt out of. For example, procuring money to buy essentials - food, clothing, shelter. In fact, survival is the ultimate foundational game & capitalism its economic avatar. Traffic laws (really, most regulations) are mandatory games.
We may not be happy playing foundational games, but opting out is virtually impossible since they are enforced to one degree or another everywhere.
2) Covert games are ones we don't realize we're playing. Most social norms fall under this category.
2) Covert games are ones we don't realize we're playing. Most social norms fall under this category.
Covert games include everything that facilitates belonging and community. They are silent, learned ways of behaving with others, privately or at work, that signal your understanding of social rules, your status, and what's generally acceptable.
3) Willful games are ones we chose to play. These could be literal video games, stock market, career/lifestyle, family vs bachelorhood, startups, art, etc. These games *can* feel very gratifying because a) we chose them, and b) it feels good to score points in a game we chose...
SCORING
One thing all games share is incentives, rewards & penalties.
Foundational games often focus on penalty avoidance or risk management.
Willful games have incentives we understand well enough to have chosen the game in the first place.
But Covert games are sinister.
One thing all games share is incentives, rewards & penalties.
Foundational games often focus on penalty avoidance or risk management.
Willful games have incentives we understand well enough to have chosen the game in the first place.
But Covert games are sinister.
Covert games involve acceptance & therefore shift with societal norms, geographies, over time. Sometimes suddenly. But the need to complete, to win the rewards always operates in the background, like an obscure Windows 10 process.
And something strange has happened of late...
And something strange has happened of late...
There's been a quickening. The rules of Covert games are being written & rewritten at an unimaginable pace, facilitated by global interconnectivity, social, mobile & viral spread of (dis)information. Failure to comply w/some new rules & incentives can have dire consequences.
Legacy systems - from our brains to our communities to our employers - are struggling to keep up. This is creating incredible friction for several reasons:
-many don't know what game they're playing or the rules
-those who think they do, don't
AND...
-many don't know what game they're playing or the rules
-those who think they do, don't
AND...
-succeeding at a shifty, Covert game is profoundly unsatisfying.
There's little sense of stability.
It's not something you consciously want or enjoy
It steals time from or directly threatens Willful games you do want to play.
This is where we are.
There's little sense of stability.
It's not something you consciously want or enjoy
It steals time from or directly threatens Willful games you do want to play.
This is where we are.
If you're interested in ways to cope with this unforgiving new reality, I'll write a follow-up here:
TheMcFuture.com/newsletter
TheMcFuture.com/newsletter
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