Life is a Goal Achievement Game

To live a great life you must aim for the right goals.

Goals are incredibly important for a fulfilling and successful life. They provide direction, motivation, and a sense of purpose. By setting goals, we give ourselves something to strive for and a way to measure our progress. Goals can also help us to focus our energy, make better decisions, and overcome challenges.

Life itself is a game of goal achievement.

Is Life Really a Game?

The idea of comparing life to a game can feel, for some, a little…off.

Life is filled with profound experiences – love, loss, joy, suffering, birth, and ultimately, death. These aren't things we typically associate with the lightheartedness of a game. To reduce the complexities of human existence to a mere game might seem to trivialize the gravity of our lived experiences. It's understandable to feel uneasy with the analogy. The pain, the struggles, the very real consequences of our choices – these are not to be taken lightly.

However, while acknowledging the profound seriousness of life… we can also recognize that it shares striking structural similarities with games.

In fact, the folks who make games are mirroring what they experience in life and bringing these experiences into their games.

These overlaps aren't about diminishing the importance of life's challenges, but rather about providing a framework for understanding how we can navigate them more effectively.

Life is the most complicated and complex system possible and games are simplified maps vs the massive territory of life. Looking at your life as a game and trying to “win” is one way to get very clear on what your goals are, and what effort you are willing to make to achieve your aims.

By viewing life through this “life is a massive multiplayer game with strategy and role playing elements” lens, we can gain valuable insights into how to set meaningful goals, track our progress, and leverage our resources to achieve a fulfilling and impactful existence. This isn't about making light of life — it's about learning the rules of the game so we can play it to the best of our ability.

This article will explore three key areas where the "life as a game" analogy holds particular weight: the concept of "levels," the idea of a "score" (or scores), and the existence of "cheat codes" and "power-ups." By understanding these elements, we can gain a clearer perspective on how to live a more purposeful and rewarding life.

Then I am going to introduce you to a tool I built to give myself a “power-up” in the game of life.

By the end of reading this you will be reaching for power-ups and trying to hack cheat codes of your own.

Leveling Up: Navigating the Stages of Life

Just like a well-designed video game, life progresses through various stages, or "levels." Each level presents unique challenges, opportunities, and goals. Thinking about life in terms of levels provides a roadmap for personal growth and development. It allows us to anticipate upcoming challenges and prepare ourselves accordingly.

Level 1: Foundational Skills (Childhood and Adolescence): This level is all about acquiring fundamental life skills. It's learning to walk, talk, read, write, and interact with others. It's about developing basic emotional intelligence, understanding social norms, and building a foundation for future learning. Success in this level might be measured by academic achievement, developing healthy relationships, and demonstrating basic independence. Failing to master these foundational skills can make it significantly harder to progress to later levels.

Level 2: Exploration and Identity (Young Adulthood): This level involves exploring different paths, discovering your passions, and forming your identity. It might include higher education, career exploration, romantic relationships, and developing a sense of self. The challenges here involve making significant life choices, often with limited experience. "Winning" at this level might involve finding a fulfilling career path, establishing a strong sense of self, and building meaningful relationships.

Level 3: Building and Contribution (Adulthood): This is often the longest and most complex level. It involves building a career, raising a family, contributing to your community, and managing finances. The challenges are numerous and varied, from balancing work and family life to navigating career changes and dealing with financial pressures. Success in this level might be defined by achieving financial stability, raising a family, making a positive impact on the world, and maintaining strong personal relationships.

Level 4: Reflection and Legacy (Later Adulthood): This level is about reflecting on your life, sharing your wisdom, and leaving a lasting legacy. It might involve mentoring younger generations, pursuing passions you've put on hold, or contributing to your community in new ways. The challenges might involve dealing with health issues, adapting to retirement, and coming to terms with mortality. "Winning" at this level might involve finding peace with your life choices, leaving a positive impact on those around you, and feeling a sense of fulfillment.

It's important to note that these levels aren't strictly linear. We may revisit earlier levels to address unresolved issues or acquire new skills. We might also experience elements of multiple levels simultaneously. The key takeaway is that life presents us with a series of evolving challenges and opportunities, and understanding these "levels" can help us navigate them more effectively. It's also important to be aware that a level for one person, may be a completely different level for another person.

Keeping Score: Defining What Truly Matters

In a video game, the score is usually a clear and quantifiable metric – points, coins, or some other numerical value. In life, the "score" is far more complex and multifaceted. It's not simply about accumulating wealth or achieving external markers of success. It's about defining what truly matters to you and measuring your progress in those areas.

Thinking about life's "score" forces us to confront fundamental questions: What constitutes a fulfilling life? What are my values? What kind of impact do I want to have on the world? The answers to these questions will be different for everyone.

My “score” used to be 100% about how much money I was making. It drove my perceived happiness, how successful I thought I was doing, it dictated my relationships… finally I escaped the dreaded Golden Handcuffs:

Suddenly, I started scoring based on how much my work actually helped people (not helped me get richer) and the quality of my relationships and my life deepened immediately.

Here are some potential "scoring systems" to consider:

1. Happiness and Well-being: This score focuses on your overall sense of happiness, contentment, and emotional well-being. It involves cultivating positive emotions, managing stress, and building strong relationships.

2. Personal Growth: This score tracks your progress in developing new skills, expanding your knowledge, and becoming a better version of yourself. It involves lifelong learning, embracing challenges, and stepping outside your comfort zone.

3. Meaningful Relationships: This score measures the quality and depth of your connections with others. It involves nurturing friendships, building strong family bonds, and cultivating a sense of belonging.

4. Contribution and Impact: This score reflects the positive impact you have on the world. It might involve volunteering your time, donating to causes you care about, or making a difference in your profession.

5. Financial Security: While not the sole determinant of a fulfilling life, financial security provides a foundation for pursuing other goals. This score tracks your progress in achieving financial stability and independence.

6. Health and Vitality: This score focuses on your physical and mental health. It involves maintaining a healthy lifestyle, managing stress, and prioritizing self-care.

The key is to consciously choose your "scoring systems" and track your progress in a way that is meaningful to you. This might involve journaling, using a habit tracker, or simply reflecting on your experiences regularly.

The goal isn't to achieve a perfect score in every area, but to strive for continuous improvement in the areas that matter most to you.

Cheat Codes and Power-Ups: Leveraging Your Resources

In video games, "cheat codes" provide shortcuts or advantages, while "power-ups" enhance your abilities. You can even build your own power-ups and hack your own cheat codes — more on that below.

In life, we also have access to resources and strategies that can help us navigate challenges and achieve our goals more effectively. These aren't literal cheat codes, of course, but they can significantly improve our chances of success.

Review this list carefully and ask yourself which of these you are making good use of. Now focus on which you can add to your life to make the biggest difference.

Mentorship: A mentor is like having a seasoned player guide you through the game. They can offer advice, share their experiences, and help you avoid common pitfalls. Seeking out mentorship from someone who has already achieved what you aspire to can be incredibly valuable.

Education and Skill Development: Learning new skills and expanding your knowledge is like acquiring powerful new abilities in a game. Education, whether formal or informal, provides you with the tools you need to succeed in your chosen field.

Networking: Building strong relationships with others is like forming alliances in a multiplayer game. Networking can open doors to new opportunities, provide support and encouragement, and help you navigate challenges more effectively.

Positive Mindset: A positive mindset is like a powerful shield that protects you from negativity and setbacks. Cultivating optimism, resilience, and a growth mindset can help you overcome obstacles and stay motivated.

Financial Resources: Money, while not the ultimate goal, can be a powerful tool for achieving your goals. Learning to manage your finances effectively, saving, and investing wisely can provide you with the resources you need to pursue your passions.

Technology: Technology provides us with a vast array of tools and resources that can enhance our productivity, connect us with others, and provide access to information. Leveraging technology effectively can be a significant advantage.

Health and Wellness: Taking care of your physical and mental health is like keeping your character in top condition. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and sufficient sleep are essential for maintaining energy, focus, and resilience.

Self-Reflection: Understanding one's strengths and weaknesses is analogous to reviewing a character's abilities before entering battle.

These "cheat codes" and "power-ups" are not guarantees of success, but they can significantly increase your odds. The key is to identify the resources that are most relevant to your goals and actively utilize them.

How Do You Level Up?

Ultimately, you must achieve your well-aimed goals.

Goals can be effectively achieved by decomposing them into a combination of one-off tasks and habits. This helps to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable steps, making them less daunting and more achievable.

One-off tasks are specific, achievable actions that you can complete in a single sitting or within a short timeframe. Examples include finishing a report, booking a trip, or cleaning the house. Habits, on the other hand, are regular actions that you take consistently over time. Examples include exercising daily, meditating every morning, or reading before bed.

For example: if your goal is to write a book, you can break it down into the following:

Tasks:

• Create an outline for the book

• Research relevant topics

• Write a first draft

• Edit the draft

• Find a literary agent (if going the publisher route)

• Find a publisher or self-publish

Habits:

• Write for a certain amount of time each day

• Edit every week on a set schedule

• Read books in your genre regularly

• Attend writing workshops or join a writing group

By breaking down your goals into one-off tasks and habits, you can create a clear roadmap for achieving them. You can also track your progress more easily and make adjustments as needed.

Winning The Game

To win, you need strategy. You also need:

• consistency

• resilience

• creativity

Discipline is the master key to all of those things.

Being disciplined allows you to consistently execute your tasks and move forward. Discipline is how you develop resilience and how you create the space in your life for creativity to flourish.

If there is one muscle you should never stop developing, it’s discipline. One of the ways to build discipline is to use repetition and take “choice” out of the matter — you WILL get your habits and tasks done.

Once it became clear to me that this game is about disciplined consistent action focused on the highest leverage points, I started building systems and tools to make winning easier.

In an attempt to win the game I created Orion, the world’s first AI Life Copilot. Orion employs AI to enhance accountability and motivation in task completion and habit formation. It promotes a systematic and consistent approach to achieving goals because Orion understands that the macro process of goal achievement is composed of individual tasks getting done augmented by the compounding force of habits.

Orion is a major power-up.

Orion begins with a fast single page intake where you tell the AI:

1. Your goals

2. Your interests

3. Where you are in life

This onboarding process facilitates the mapping of your current state against your desired future state(s)

Then Orion helps you create habits and tasks that align with your goals. Orion is heavily gamified to award points to Users for completing habits and maintaining streaks.

Each day you fill out your journal in the app, once in the morning and again in the evening after the day’s work is over. This is to promote planning and track follow-through.

By breaking down goals and tracking progress Orion makes the process of achieving goals more manageable and less overwhelming. Gamification can further enhance motivation and engagement, leading to higher success rates. These gamification elements (points, rewards, and challenges) can make the process of pursuing goals more enjoyable and stimulating. I believe this will lead to increased motivation and a desire to continue engaging with Orion as you check boxes, build habits and achieve your goals.

As you gain points from habit & task completions, journal entries and challenge achievements you can see yourself climbing the Weekly Leaderboard. This is highly motivational.

Orion has 3 key features that utilize the latest AI models to help you achieve your goals:

1. Get AI Planning

2. Generate AI Advice

3. Speak with the AI Council of Advisors

Get AI Planning is the key step where we use AI to decompose a goal into constituent parts — tasks and habits.

The AI suggests one-off steps you can take toward your goals (tasks) and recurring actions you can take that will get you closer to victory (habits).

It is very useful to get an outside perspective on what tactical steps you should be taking.

Speaking of useful… Orion takes all your journal entries, all your habit and task completions, and passes them to a super intelligent AI system that reads all this context and deliver advice on how the journey toward goal completion is going!

Orion users benefit from a daily practice of focusing on habits and key tasks, while journaling about their objectives versus their outcomes on a consistent basis. Consistency is a superpower. It's also a muscle that can be built up through repetition, that is exactly how Orion works — by organizing and gamifying goal achievement.

Sign up now at:

https://orioncopilot.app

Orion users get better, stronger and smarter faster than anyone.

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