Philosophy Friday: Life As A Game

“Man conquers the world by conquering himself.” — Zeno of Citium

Someone disses you behind our back. The neighbour’s dog left an unpleasant gift on your front lawn. Your boss is giving you a hard time. The queues at the supermarket are incredibly long and slow-moving while you’re doing the weekly grocery run.

You seem to face difficulties and obstacles wherever you turn. We all do. Problems don’t stop coming. Nobody said life was going to be easy.

If your character in a video game got cut off in traffic, would you get angry at the inconsiderate virtual driver? Shake your fist and scream at the computer monitor? No, of course not. Now THAT would be crazy!

So, what if we treated life more like we’re a player in a computer game? If we viewed hindrances like they are not happening to us but a disembodied character we control? We wouldn’t sweat the small stuff. We’d realise that the vast majority of our daily obstacles are trivialities. Nothing worth getting worked up for.

“To be evenminded is the greatest virtue.” — Heraclitus

The ancient Stoic philosophers had this idea of maintaining a tranquil disposition at all times. To them, getting upset over life’s inevitable inconveniences was the sign of an untrained, immature mind. They knew that the possessors of such undisciplined minds would suffer much unnecessary anguish and pain.

Maybe you can remain composed in the face of another daily obstacle? It’ll be in your power to think of life more like a computer game.