Tag Archives: games

Focus on the shot you are about to take

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Focus on the shot you are about to take. The game isn’t over till it’s over.

—Calm App Reflection

My five-year-old grandson’s favorite board game is the Hershey edition of Monopoly Junior. Through his play, he is learning numerous life skills as he moves his favorite chocolate bar character around the board. He particularly enjoys rolling the dice, buying properties, passing Go to collect $2, and landing on Chance spaces to see what they reveal.

With each roll of the dice, he sees opportunities to better his chances of winning. When he is a bit behind, he often prefers the other players let him roll again and again. We are still working on good sportsmanship and taking turns.

EXERCISE:

What games are you currently playing in your personal and professional worlds?

Where are you falling behind and becoming discouraged?

How would greater focus on your next shot — and the next — turn things around?

Being a giver is not good for a 100-yard dash

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“Being a giver is not good for a 100-yard dash, but it’s valuable in a marathon.”

—Adam Grant, in Give and Take

How familiar are you with the difference between a finite and infinite game?

In his book, Finite and Infinite Games, author James P. Carse describes finite games – such as sports – as activities in which participants obey rules, recognize boundaries, and announce winners and losers.

Infinite games, on the other hand, can have known and unknown players, and a key objective is having the will and resources to keep the game going.

To what degree do you play the long game by being a giver within your various communities? If all people stopped keeping score and playing only to win, how might the world be a far kinder and richly abundant place?

EXERCISE:

Consider watching Simon Sinek’s video The Infinite Game, to explore how this concept might apply to your personal and professional worlds.

Also consider reading Sinek’s article titled, The Finite and Infinite Game in Work and Life

“It is always your next move.”

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“It is always your next move.”

—Napoleon Hill, American writer one of the great writers on success

Photo from Flickr by Wyoming Jackrabbit

Photo from Flickr by Wyoming Jackrabbit

Do you play board games or video games? How about other types of games?

If you do, you know that what keeps us engaged is the goal of winning, and celebrating each achievement along the way.

What about the game of life, where professional or personal achievement is the goal? Sometimes when we feel stuck or stopped, when we become frustrated or discouraged, we forget that our next move might be the one that shifts the world for the better.

EXERCISE:

Notice where you are stopped, stuck, or plateaued in your professional or personal life. Explore and courageously choose to make your next move in at least one area, toward a more desirable future.

Feel free to reply to this post and let me know what happens.