GAMIFYING GROWTH
Taking on fun challenges to build a better you.
Are there ever times when you know you need to change something in your life, but you just cannot be arsed to do so?
Studies show 98% of the population live within their comfort zone. The human brain is wired to avoid stressful, difficult, intimidating situations — it’s a survival instinct that has been passed down from our ancient ancestors who used to have to experience hardships daily for survival. The luxury we have today in a first world country like the U.S. would be considered comfortable to them back then because of how much easier it is to survive. It is true that some challenges still exist, but I cannot imagine not being able to drink water from the tap when I am thirsty. The point is, complacency exists today more than ever before because of how far we have come with the advancements in technology.
Young adults often choose comfort over challenges because modern culture emphasizes mental well-being, work-life balance, and the convenience provided by technology. Comfort is about playing it safe, doing the same things as the people around you (the pygmalion effect) and not attempting to progress forward in any area of life unless there is a dire need to do so (just like our ancestors). Totally understandable that the majority of the population are in this mindset, who doesn’t want to just sit around watch TV all day after spending the first 18–21 years in school getting an education to find a job that pays enough money to not have to worry about food, clothes, shelter with the added bonus of entertainment.
But, is there another way?
People who live life in the comfort zone find themselves looking for happiness externally, hence the available free time spent looking at screens. The brain loves it when we do this because we get dopamine hits constantly giving the illusion of happiness. But the brain is not actually growing or feeling challenged in this state. Only when the brain is challenged with new information can it gain new neurological connections and increase brain activities (neuroplasticity). When we stop using parts of the brain, which many of us experience when in the comfort zone, we lose certain brain activity and it starts to get weak over time unless we do something about it. It’s not so different from going to the gym to gain muscle — if you stop going for a long time you will lose it and get weak.
So what’s a good solution to this problem? We need to find ways to get dopamine hits doing activities that continues to engage the brain. I have been doing that unknowingly for years on accident. But I have realized now more than ever how important it is to continue finding new ways to challenge myself to be better in engaging ways.
I have ADHD, which is both a blessing and a curse. I had ADHD before I had internet and a cell phone to make it worse lol. ADHD often feels like a constant struggle to focus, with persistent restlessness and a feeling of boredom that makes it difficult to stay engaged in tasks. Life was constantly boring and I always had an itch to just do something when things became routine. As I got older, I tried to do things that stopped me from feeling bored and helped me grow at the same time. It may be my internal motivations to strive for more and to be better, but I have always hated the idea of living life on auto pilot. I work full time. I still watch a lot of shows and movies. I still hang out with friends and family. I still have a set list of tasks at work that I complete each week. But what I differently is 30 day challenges.
Several months out of the year, I pick an area of my life that I would like to challenge myself to do better. Since it needs to be challenging, I pick something that is relevant to my current life situation in hopes to see improvement. I did not start doing this until my teens, but from what I recall, one of the first pain points in my life was regarding my weight. I was a fat little fucker and hated the idea of doing exercise for the gym. I wanted to lose weight but felt like I did not have “time” to go to the gym. And when I did have time, the idea of going to the gym doing the same workouts consistently sounded boring and was boring when I actually tried it.
I think one of the very first challenges I did was to run 3 miles a day everyday for 30 days. I planned it out and found it would take roughly 20–40 minutes out of my day each day. A challenge like this can sound daunting or impossible, but you would be surprised with how your brain reacts to challenges. After completing the challenge successfully with no bad days, my mind raced towards another health challenge, and then another, and the cycle continues. The brain was seeking new neurological connections rather than being complacent. My dopamine hits was coming from improving myself and being better. Challenges became fun and exciting rather than daunting and boring. What is more remarkable, is how cross functional it can be to take on a challenge in one life area and completing it successfully to start poking at other life areas and finding challenges for them as well!
Newton’s third law discusses that an object in motion stays in motion. This theory can explain the feeling of internal motivation that comes when you want to continue to improve yourself. All it takes is one challenge at a time in something you have a strong inclination to improve. Since then, I have had both moments of living comfortably, and then living life through challenges. From my experience, I feel like I am being alive when in my comfort zone and feeling alive when I am doing a challenge.
The title of this article is called gamifying growth. Up until now, we have discussed why it is worth taking on challenges and when they are fun and rewarding you are more likely to grow. Think of challenges like you do a video game. When you play a video game for the first time you may not be very good. But then you practice and play on increasing difficulty levels, and as you play more you become experienced. Heck, you might find out you are really good and play against others online and make world wide leaderboards. Make your life like a video game and give yourself levels and challenges and milestones to reach. Gamify your growth.
If my little spiel above was not enough to motivate you or you need a TD;LR, here are 5 actionable steps you can take to gamify your growth.
Set Clear Goals and Rewards
Define specific milestones and provide rewards or badges for achieving them. In a game, you get a score to tell you how well you are performing. In life, you can build your own reward system once you achieve your goals.
For instance, every time you drink a gallon of water you can put aside money in a travel fund. The more you complete the task, the more money you will accrue for a nice lil holiday. Another really cool idea is to have a reward wheel where it contains a list of all your favorite things. Every time you complete a challenge you can spin it and treat yourself to whatever you put on the wheel!
Create Challenges and Quests
This is the one I described that I do that has helped me. Design engaging tasks and quests that encourage progress and skill development.
30 day challenges are awesome and the greatest thing about them is that you know they are going to end. So even if it’s something really difficult like doing the Insanity workout challenge, you know that after a month you will be proud of completing such a difficult challenge. In the process, you’d probably get ripped and have insane stamina.
Track Progress Visually
Some individuals want to be able see their progression. Maybe consistency is something they prefer rather than doing random stuff. Using charts, leaderboards, or progress bars to visualize achievements and motivate continued effort is an excellent way to do the same activities, but making them more challenging by tracking your progress.
This works really well when you are taking on health challenges. But if you wanted to make more money and see how much you can grow $1000 in 30 days (a challenge that I would like to do in the future btw), a line graph showing the change in value would be really cool!
Encourage Competition and Collaboration
Accountability is an awesome way to ensure you stick to tasks. When you do the same tasks with other people, you can foster friendly competition or teamwork through group challenges and collaborative goals. This is an excellent way to bond with people at work, grow with friends, or make connections with strangers at the gym (gyms like Orange Theory already have leaderboards and ranking systems).
What I love the most about doing challenges with other people, is that you are not only working on a challenge to improve one area of your life, you are automatically improving your relationships (another important life area) as well! Double whammy haha.
Incorporate Levels and Rankings
Introduce levels or ranks that you can achieve as you grow, adding a sense of progression. Sometimes, you need to see how far you come. When you do Jiu Jitsu your levels and rankings are in the form of belt colors. In basketball, it is your ranking against other teams. You can come up with something creative that works for you that tests your competency in a particular challenge and build your own ranking system.
An example that comes to top of mind is taking on a challenge and then participating in an event against others to see your improvement. I could practice how to dribble for 30 days and then challenge someone in a game to see how well I have improved. If I do well, I find someone who was better than the previous guy and slowly work my way up to LeBron James. Totally kidding, but yeah, just try and be fun and creative with it.
The goal and moral of this article is to encourage you to try and find something that you want to improve on and find creative ways to get it done. Whether it is getting better by doing activities with friends, having friendly competition, or taking on personal 30 day challenges like I love doing. Whatever you decide, try and come outside the comfort zone and experience what it is like to be challenged and train your brain and body. You will start to feel like you are living a life worth living if you do not already feel that way.
