I ran across an amazing article at Medium.com, “Your Life Is Tetris. Stop Playing It Like Chess.” This article encompasses the very reason of why I love reading (and writing) blogs – people express themselves, compare things, and making amazing analogies. There are usually no canned thoughts and it’s very authentic. Before I capture the essence of the article I read, let’s talk a little about how these games work: In Tetris you are given varying shapes/blocks and your goal is to make them all fit evenly and score points in a set amount of time. There’s no competition, just you and those blocks. Each time you play, you try to beat your last game’s score. In Chess, there’s you and an opponent, each with the same “pieces” and the goal is to absolutely beat the other person – capture their king There can be only one winner and there is no time limit.

The author compare these two games to The Game of Life, which i’ve written about before. (Click HERE for a review). The entire article is an great read; but here’s a summary: (my commentary in pink)

1. In life, your only opponent is yourself. The real game of life is completely internal. STOP TRYING TO COMPETE/COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS. FOCUS ON BEING THE VERY BEST VERSION OF YOU!
2. In life, things don’t get harder — they just get faster. The only way to master life — like Tetris — is to learn to play with the same self-control at the highest speeds. LEARNING TO ADAPT TO AD REMAIN CLAM IN ANY AND EVERY SITUATION IS WHAT SEPARATES DRAMA QUEENS FROM THE REST OF THE SAME POPULATION.  RELAX.
3. In life, you can’t control the board. Like Tetris, you can simply put yourself in the best possible position without seeking to completely control the system you play in. YOU’VE HEARD THE SAYING, PLAY THE HAND YOU’VE BEEN DEALT. IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE CARDS YOU’VE BEEN HANDED (OR SELECTED FOR YOURSELF), GO OUT AND GET NEW ONES. NO ONE OWES A NEW HAND.
4. In life, no one tells you when you’ve won. I don’t play to win — I play to play. WHAT DOES WINNING MEAN TO YOU? YOUR WINNING != TO MY WINNING. HAVE FUN! ENJOY LIFE! CELEBRATE THE SMALL THINGS. ONLY YOU CAN DETERMINE WHEN YOU’VE WON.