Video games got it so right: if you want to get bigger, stronger, faster, then you need to gain experience, improve your skills, and then you level up.
Isn’t it the same in real life? If we want to improve, grow, and get promoted or up our game, then we do so by gaining more work experience, learning additional skills, and rising up to new standards.
But just like in gaming, the more we push, the more time we spend, and the more we practice, the faster we will level up and get the additional powers or capabilities to play higher levels…and gain better rewards.
If we’re just going through the motions, then no doubt we will still improve and get better, but not at the same frequency as investing further in our character, the game, and our goal – which keeps changing as we level up.
Now it isn’t always easy as life gets in the way, time is scarce, and sometimes we don’t even know which way to go and where. But we still need to skill up, all the time, every day, in one form or another…just to make sure we don’t forget the skills we’ve learned, or stunt our growth, and that we keep working and progressing towards a higher level/goal.
So while life is hectic, we can still skill up by small daily activities such as reading, writing, watching, asking questions, finding mentors, and making sure we’re always learning, so we gain more experience points in one way or another.
Even if those are only a few XP points, as long as it’s ongoing, they add up, and just like small marginal gains, they increase our experience, up our skills, and bring us up to a new, higher-level we haven’t been to before.
And just like in the game, it isn’t always fun, but it does contribute positively…even if just slightly.
We just gotta make sure we do so continuously.