March 2021 - The Future Mindset

What To Expect

Today’s article on how playing games can bring out the best in us digs deeper into how playing any kind of game can make our mind more resilient, overcome failure, and help us live a happier life. I will also discuss how video games have impacted my life and how they can impact yours too.

How Playing Games Can Bring Out The Best In Us

I’ve been playing video games since I was 5 years old from the Nintendo 64 to now the PS4. I have spent countless hours in worlds and enjoyed the most amazing stories that greatly excited my mind.

It also helped me relax after a stressful day, unlocked my competitive side when playing online and helped my brain muscle with problem-solving challenges.

People can look at games in a negative light where children don’t get outdoors enough and they say it damages their brains. Of course, this might be true if you spend 16 hours a day, 7 days a week non -stop playing. You could say the same thing about anything if you overdo it.

I believe there are many positives to gaming that maybe the non-gamers don’t realise which will discuss below.

It’s a great outlet and can be beneficial to professionals too. Formula 1 drivers have a game simulator where they test new and existing tracks with real-life accuracy whilst being incredibly real.

The Evolution Of Gaming

The gaming industry will ever evolve with VR now the next big thing.

Over the coming decades as it develops. One day we might have an experience much like the holodeck in Star Trek where we can create a life-like world which we can explore. How amazing would this be for surgeons, engineers or scientist to experiment without harm to others?

The ideas are endless of the benefits the gaming platform could improve the world.

Today we will focus more on the benefits we can experience today.

What Video Games Can Teach Us

How playing games can bring out the best in us — Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

1. Playing Games Teaches You About Failure

Learning how to deal with failure is an important trait to learn. Considering the majority of our life’s consist of failure and mistakes of varying magnitude. When playing video games there is no getting around failing at some point. Especially older games where there is no saving point for long stretches of play.

Imagine spending 30 minutes to only die at the last moment, to then have to start it all again. Now that’s learning to deal with failure painfully.

Learning from failure is crucial to improve and move forward. This lesson can easily transfer to real-life learning. Where you learn you can always try again as long as you learn from your failures.

2. Playing Games Teaches You Strategy

In life or business, you have to develop a strategy or else you will keep going in the wrong direction. Being a good strategist has been important throughout human history. Many great battles have been won or lost based on strategy. Within sport, the mastermind manager winning against all odds to prevail through their strategy is a hallmark of a great manager.

This skill can be learned with strategy games, Minecraft and any RPG when discovering new worlds. Now with multiplayer games, a strategy can go a long way in helping win a FIFA game or on Battlefield making sure you come up with the right strategy to capture the flag.

All these little lessons help your brain to practice coming up with strategies that can help you win. When transferring it into real life this skill can help transform your goal setting and whenever you come against problems you can be in the best place to solve them.

3. Playing Games Teaches You Problem-Solving

Problem-solving is one of the most sought after skills in leadership. Being able to look at a problem and effectively solve it can change everything.

Solving puzzles in games can sometimes be painstaking but the dopamine hit of solving that problem is worth it.

There’s also problem-solving when your up against the final boss in a game where you have to problem solve the best way to kill the boss before it kills you. Has brought out the problem-solving muscle to great effect.

Transferring this into real-life can help you overcome and solve most problems in your life. This skill can be within your subconscious mind waiting to show itself when needed. But its development can definitely be done by solving problems within games.

5. Playing Games Teaches You About Creativity

Playing videos games can definitely help you unlock the creative part of your brain.

Now recently backed by new research has shown when gamers are allowed to explore worlds in any way they want. It created a creativity aspect unique to each user, rather than being instructed to follow a certain path.

With games like The Witcher, Skyrim and MMOGs games. The choice for the gamer to be creative with their own choices, character appearance and who you interact with can lead to a boost in creativity. You can even look behind the scenes and see the creativity it takes to create a game and its story.

Don’t be surprised if you’re working the creative muscle next time you play a game.

6. Playing Games Teaches You Determination

When you fail in life if you don’t have the determination to pick yourself up and carry on, life’s going to keep hitting you with the same problems.

With games, you learn this fast and you have to be determined to persevere, adapt and move forward. I’ve been stuck on certain games for a long period of time, especially when I was young.

Learning to be determined to carry on and prevail.

Has followed into my real life where my determination has helped me overcome many obstacles.

7. Playing Games Teaches You To Focus

Being able to focus is a major part of succeeding at any task. Playing games like Formula 1 you have to focus or when you crash you’re out of the race.

Just like real-life, developing a laser focus allows you to progress within games and especially when online you can really see where your focus level is at.

By playing games, you can greatly improve your focus and understand what it takes to focus on real-life tasks. This has been true when I have to focus on hitting a deadline. The focus level needed is very similar to the one you develop playing video games intensely.

8. Playing Games Teaches You How To Win At Life

One thing games teach you is how to win. Every game you play there’s an outcome of completing a game or winning a duel. Understanding the dynamics that go into this can bring out the winner within you.

Transferring it into real-life you can understand that finding a way to win at everything you do can bring amazing things to your life.

This mentality has helped me greatly to become the person I am today and when I lose focus of this mentality life doesn’t hand me the cards as easily.

It teaches you that you have to go and get it. With action = the results you want.

9. Playing Games Teaches You About Community

Keeping in touch with friends and loved ones can be hard with busy lives and long-distance moves. Playing games together just like sports is a great way to bring people together.

I have countless enjoyable moments playing with and against my uncles. It brings to your attention that having a positive community within your life brings so much happiness that you otherwise might miss out on.

You can even make new friends within the gaming community and develop positive competition with friendly foes.

Overall understanding that community is important more than ever, can be a great boost to mental health.

What Do You Think?

Thank you for reading the article about how playing games can bring out the best in us

Gaming has had a positive impact on my life and now it’s the most consumed media on the planet where it has become a billion if not a trillion-dollar industry.

Looking back at a PS1 console or an Xbox and being shocked at the graphics and gameplay we once thought was the most amazing thing ever. We will do the same with what we are using now no doubt.

Gaming no matter how far into the future will help us in some way.

Subconsciously you will be developing skills under the radar that you will use and develop in your real life. If you can be conscious about your experiences with games and what they teach you. It can really open your mind to understanding and developing yourself too.

So pick up your control pad and get gaming!!

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Hi, I’m Adam

I’ve spent over 10 years coaching and mentoring people within sport and business. I have many life skills that I have developed and I want to pass these skills on so people can find their best self. I believe it all starts in the mind and I write about valuable tools and strategies to help people grow in this area.

https://thefuturemindset.com/about-2/

Within today’s article, 6 ways a mentor can help you with imposter syndrome. We will discuss how you as a mentor can help anyone overcome their imposter syndrome. In a time where imposter syndrome is becoming more well know and prevalent within society. It is your duty as a mentor to help guide people to regain control of reality and their mind.

How To Help Someone With Imposter Syndrome

At some point, we all face imposter syndrome whether that’s you getting a promotion into a management position and you don’t feel deserving of the role or you get asked to write a book and you don’t feel your message is worth anyone hearing.

From a mentors point of view spotting this in people is an important part of coaching and leading people. It can be hard for people to see their own fault and what holds them back. Looking from the outside in. You can place yourself in a unique position to help comfort and guide people away from imposter syndrome.

Here are some of the ways you can do this.

6 Ways A Mentor Can Help You With Imposter Syndrome

1. Let Them Know They Are Not Alone

Once you have spotted imposter syndrome in someone. Let them know they’re not the only person going through this. By letting them know that you go through it, all the people around you and the successful people you watch on TV, all go through it too.

When we get caught with imposter syndrome we have a tendency to make ourselves feel it’s just us and us alone are going through this. Comforting your mentees to let them know they’re not alone can help a lot in overcoming imposter syndrome. Telling them your own stories and showing them real-life stories can uplift their spirits that it’s not just them.

2. Look Out For Negative Self-Talk

A quick way to spot if someone is experiencing imposter syndrome is by listening to what they say about themselves. For example, saying I’m not good enough to do this or I’m too stupid to do this.

As a mentor, you should calmly and immediately move them away from this negative self-talk. You can do this by presenting them with facts as to why these statements are completely false. Showing them when they have succeeded and what everyone else thinks of them. Slowly absorb and throw out any negative self-talk they have.

From there help them by teaching techniques like how to create a victory list of their achievements and help them remember their successes. This will give them the power to correct themselves when you’re not there.

3. Let Them Know What You Think Of Them

Affirming on a regular basis the positivity you see in the people you mentor. Can stop imposter syndrome from forming in the first place. There is something good in everyone, you just have to look.

By being honest with your assessments it will them overcome self-doubt and help them believe they are worthy of the position or task they’re doing. Make a mental note or write down at least one thing to the person you’re mentoring and let them know.

Watch or listen to how they feel and perform as a consequence of your affirmation towards them. A mentor who doesn’t let their mentee know what they are doing well at. Will allow imposter syndrome to flourish at some point.

4. Eradicate Sexism, Racism And Social Hierarchy

You wouldn’t think these 3 words would affect imposter syndrome but it surely does. Imposter syndrome was first researched with women where women felt their efforts and place in the workplace was at cost of being female. Also, minorities in an organisation have a feeling they don’t belong because they don’t fit in with the majority. This brings out the self-doubt, imposter syndrome feeds off.

That is why you as a mentor or leader have to create an environment where everyone matters and that everyone regardless, of gender, race or social standing that you are deserving of being here.

The old way of thinking of being a man, being white or being from a well off family means of deserving more has to disappear. We know now categorically that women are just as smart as men, that we’re are human with the same mental capacity and just because you are born into a certain family means nothing to what you can achieve. Understanding this you will create an environment that anyone would love to work in.

5. Create A Safe Space For Mental Health

I think now with all the knowledge we know about mental health. Having a safe space where people can talk about their problems and concerns should be of importance.

This is one way you can help someone prevent and overcome imposter syndrome.

I would recommend that you study and seek expert advice when dealing with anyone’s mental health and depending on the size of your organisation. Having a fully trained professional is a great option to have which most sports teams and the biggest companies have now. To simply listen and find solutions together can really help the mindset change from imposter syndrome.

6. Help Them To Self Manage Imposter Syndrome

It’s amazing if you can help someone overcome imposter syndrome but it can be even more empowering to teach them to overcome it themselves. Self-management leads to long term happiness and the power to be in charge of imposter syndrome when it creeps up. Check out 8 ways to overcome imposter syndrome for developing this on an individual basis.

Over To You

I hope you learned from today’s article 6 Ways A Mentor Can Help You With Imposter Syndrome.

It can be a difficult job being someone’s mentor but it’s also a privilege too. It’s our duty to provide the best mentoring possible and helping them overcome imposter syndrome can be one of them.

Are there any other strategies that you know of to combat imposter syndrome as a mentor? Please write it in the comments below.

IF YOU LOVED THE ARTICLE PLEASE SHARE BELOW!

Hi, I’m Adam

https://thefuturemindset.com/about-2/