The game we are all playing
[Retro] daily blog #4 (8/2021)
Recently, in order to limit my chess.com play time (which used to be ridiculously high), I deleted my account and played with a guest pass only. Meaning no ranking, no point deducted when I lose, and no point added when I win.
To my surprise, this strategy has worked wonders. The longest time I stayed with the guest pass was 30 minutes compared to 4 hours if I play with my account.
Why is there such a stark difference? It's the same game after all.
Here's what I think: The thrill and excitement you associate with a game do not come from the game itself. They come from a promise of reputation.
The promise is: the more you play, the better you get, the higher your ranking. A higher ranking means a bigger reputation.
I am 100% willing to play for 4 hours straight to protect and improve my in-game reputation. But I won't even pass the half-hour mark if my reputation is not associated. Who cares if I lose today?
When our reputation is on the line, we are afraid of harming it.
This fear is way bigger than an online chess game. You see this in real life all the time. "Oh, I can't do it. Never done it before, what if things go wrong? What would it do to my reputation?"
Reputation requires you to stick with the proven track to success. "Get into that school. Join that club. Apply for that fellowship. Intern in that company." Why? Not because they are inherently most suitable for your growth, but because of a promise of reputation.
The promise is that: the harder you grind, the better job you get, the bigger your paycheck. And in our society, a bigger paycheck means a bigger reputation.
Everyone is playing life with a goal to improve their reputation. They come back to the same game every day and grind in the same way that many "top players" have. Get into that school, join that club, apply for that fellowship, intern in that company. Check those boxes.
Reputation, or the fear of harming it, discourages people from trying disruptive ideas, from testing - failing - and learning.
Significant changes; however, always come from disruption, from the people who see a problem and decide to tackle it in many different ways that guarantee so many failures, risking their reputation. These people are playing a completely different kind of life.
They are not reputation-builders. They are change-makers.
They are here: https://bit.ly/Join-MO-now