I know I’m going to lose at least half of the audience with a title like this, but the other half might just be intrigued.

Like every other 14 year-old boy, I loved video games. However, I was never really obsessed with them like some others – playing endlessly, hidden in the depths of a basement, deprived from the physical world and nearly all social interaction. Well, that was true, until my neighbor Cory introduced me to this little game called WoW (World of Warcraft).

For those that don’t know what World of Warcraft is, it’s a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Set in an expansive fantasy world, which allows players to create character, embark on quests, explore landscapes, and engage in epic battles against powerful monsters and other players. The game offers a rich, immersive experience with its diverse races and classes, and complex systems of progression and customization.

Two Lives

Once I was introduced to this game, I lived two lives…

In one life, I was a normal teenage boy: I went to school, got good grades, hung out with friends, and helped my mom carry out the garbage... In the other life, I lived on a computer, under the alias Goontown: a Level 60, Night Elf Assassination Rogue, with a Field Marshal ranking who spent every free moment ganking Horde and leveling up my avatar.

One of these lives had a future and one did not…

Eventually, my parents had stripped me of my video game freedom, set me straight on a different path (in retrospect), and the WoW obsession started to fade. My double life was not sustainable, and the pull for other aspects of my life outweighed the keyboard’s calling.

That said, these few years on the computer led me to an epiphany later in my life.

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What if I told you that you were the character, that real-life is the game, and that you can be the Rogue?

Here are a few lessons I learned from playing WoW that helped me understand that your actual life is the ultimate video game. And how learning skills, building habits, and focusing on self-improvement is how you actually level up, and win.

Characters

In World of Warcraft, you create characters that start from nothing. You start from level 1. These avatars are blank slates, much like you are when we start your own journey in the real world. As you navigate through the game's universe, your character evolves. They gain XP, acquire skills, and become stronger by fighting monsters and completing quests. This progression isn't just a digital fantasy; it's a reflection of how you develop as a human being.

You, too, start your lives with potential. Your actions, decisions, and the challenges you face shape who you become. Just like in the games, you choose your path, build your skill sets, and strive to level up (or chill at the level you stop playing with).

Skill Development

One of the core mechanics in all MMOs is skill development. Whether it's mining ore, crafting weapons, or mastering attacks, these games require players to invest time and effort to improve. This grind mirrors real life, where skill acquisition is a continuous process.

In the real world, you might not be swinging swords or casting spells, but you can constantly learn and hone your abilities. Be it through education, career progression, or personal hobbies, you get to choose what you want to improve on.

Do you want to learn how to fight? Try jiu jitsu. Want to learn how to cook? Pick up a pan, some raw food, and follow a recipe.

The patience and dedication required to max out a skill in a game are the same qualities needed to master real-life skills. The sense of achievement you feel when your character reaches a new level is akin to the pride we experience when you achieve a personal milestone.

Harder Levels

As your character grows stronger, the challenges they face become more daunting. Early-game monsters and quests are soon replaced by harder foes that have more stamina and do more damage. This scaling difficulty is essential for keeping the game engaging.

Life, too, has a way of presenting you with increasingly complex challenges and responsibilities. What starts as simple tasks in your youth evolves into more significant responsibilities and obstacles as you get older.

Just as in the games, these challenges are not meant to deter you but to push you to become better. Overcoming adversity in real life builds resilience, much like defeating a powerful boss in a game boosts our character's stats and your own confidence.

You can’t keep fighting the same monsters and expect to get any better.

Another way to say that is if you do the same thing, expect the same results. Getting better requires pushing yourself to do more.

Discovery to Level Up

In the pursuit of higher levels and greater power, players in MMORPGs must continually seek out new quests and challenges around the world. This relentless drive to improve is a lesson you can all apply to your own life. Complacency leads to stagnation, but a commitment to lifelong learning and exploration keeps you moving forward.

Whether it's acquiring a new skill, embarking on a new career path, or pursuing a personal passion, the quest for self-improvement never truly ends. There is no end game, just progression.

Age is not merely a indication of level. You may have more hours in the game, but doesn’t mean you’ve experienced more or spent time focusing on building or creating skills. 

Real Life: The Ultimate Game

The lessons learned from playing World of Warcraft transcend the digital realm. These games teach us that life is an ongoing adventure where you are the character. You have the power to shape your life, develop your skills, explore new options, and do hard things to continue to get better.

Video games like RuneScape, Call of Duty, Final Fantasy, Guild Wars, and World of Warcraft (I’ve tried them all) are used as an escape from reality, digital realms where you can momentarily forget your real-world problems. You will find a false sense of growth from your avatar's development and progression through the game. You can use games like these to entertain yourself, to keep yourself occupied, and distract yourself from the REAL GAME.

*Side note: If you didn’t game when you were younger and feel like you can’t relate, just know that ‘your’ professional sports team that you ride-or-die for has a similar objective. You are likely getting a false sense of accomplishment and adventure, by watching your team go to battle every week, while you sit on your a** and try to take pride in their efforts.

That said, the real world is not something to escape from but a complex game filled with opportunities for growth.

You can be the warrior, the hunter, the mage, the rogue.

You can learn to fight, to hunt, to cook, to fish… You can learn anything, do anything, or be anything.

And there’s even more good news, you don’t have to be level 1, you can be level 100 with enough patiences, persistence, and consistency.

By viewing life through the lens of a video game, you can find motivation to become a real-life warrior. 

In the end, life is the most immersive game you will ever play, and the rewards are what you make of them.

You are the character, and life is the game.

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Own the Process, 

Tim 

Author of Mastery Monday

Student & Founder