It would be tacky to start off this post by saying how bad 2020 was; but it would also be amiss not to mention it either. At this time every year we all start to see social media posts and memes saying something along the lines of how the coming year is going to be the year for the poster, or how the current year was “just a trial run” or “a warm up” for what that person is going to do with whatever time they’re allotted with the approaching new year. Make no mistake about it, 2020 was a remarkably hard time. I feel like we all know someone who was affected by the economic whiplash that came on the heels of the pandemic; or someone who felt the walls of their home grow smaller while in quarantine. We were all lumped into categories of “essential” or “nonessential”—as if anyone’s way of earning a living and income (or the right thereof) was dispensable… 2020 was a rollercoaster for all of us in some way. But that’s not to say that there wasn’t people out there in the world improving their position in spite of all of the surrounding factors that made 2020 a year for the history books.
The concept of “Life is a Game” comes off to most people as bullshit because we’re quick to dismiss games as being something not serious—and life is something to be taken seriously—so to most people the analogy is thrown out. But when we consider that games are competitive and are to be played to win, that adds a new spin to it, because life is something you should be trying to win.
Actively chasing your interests, goals, and deadlines is one way to separate yourself from the ones just playing the game to play the game instead of actively trying to win. But regardless of whether it’s New Years Eve or just an evening, your ability to improve your position by actively hunting your goals is ever-present. Every single day is an opportunity to play the game of life with the relentless pursuit to win. Setting out chase your dreams isn’t dependent on some frivolous flip of a calendar page, or ‘next Monday.’ In the words of the Gorilla Biscuits: “start today. “
“Procrastinate it can wait, I put it off
Let’s start today, let’s start today”
I don’t know how long it’s going to take for this writing career to take off, but damned if I’m not going to keep trying to find out. All the while I keep striving to be better every single day than I was the day before. Of course some days are harder than others, but I’m harder than those days. Sometimes that means I need to retreat to reorganize, and reprioritize—and that’s okay. I’m sure you have goals for the new year, and just like all of the previous years before, there’s going to be obstacles that get in the way of progress. But the obstacle is the way. We have to overcome those obstacles and be better because of them and not slighted on our crusade against the mundane.
“The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Friends, don’t look for the new year to be the reason to begin your crusade. Don’t put off the campaign until “the right time.” The time is always right to start the advancement or to adjust and realign yourself to better conquer your goals. So while we can all agree to leave 2020 in the past, don’t think that 2021 is going to be any different for you unless you take the action to make your today better than your yesterday all the while making preparations to make your tomorrow better than your today. So before you step into the new year, ask yourself: am I playing the game just to play, or am I playing to win? Then let’s revisit that thought in 12 months as see how many “New year, new me” vapid posts came to fruition while we keep vigilant in our holy quest.
