Sports, headgames, strategy. Our human brains love them. Here’s Jane McGonigal’s incredible definition (and reminder):
Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.
You can just sit tight and enjoy the status quo. Play it safe. You’re not dead yet after all. Kick a ball. Better yet, watch Dimitri Payet’s balletic launching of a missile of a shot. Appreciate the unnecessity of the obstacles in front of you.
Or, you can start to find new obstacles, instances, or challenges to explore – in reality.
Because the game doesn’t turn into reality until you make the obstacles necessary and real and actually face them.
Once you do, you’re not just playing a game anymore, you’re living.