The Game of Life

I love playing games with my children! So, this Christmas, my wife and I gave my boys several games that we could play together as a family. Among these games was The Game of Life by Milton Bradley. I used to love playing this game as a kid at my grandmother's house growing up. Of course, we bought the electronic banking version since my wife has an aversion to handling cash after years and years of working in the banking industry.

After playing a round with my children, I noticed my wife and I had a very different perspective on the game than my children. We weren't nearly as impressed with the careers that were so easily obtained and the very high salaries that accompanied them. I think our years of struggle and facing the realities of life dimmed our enjoyment of the Game of Life. I couldn't help but think how poorly the game would prepare my children to face the challenges that were sure to come their way. They weren't going to be able to start off with $400,000 in their pocket. They wouldn't have the choice of paying for all of their college up front with the cash they have on hand. Marriage won't come about just because of what point the have reached in life and children won't come into their lives just by the spin of the wheel.

I still enjoyed playing the game with my boys, and, yes, I did beat them soundly at it without any feelings of regret or remorse. But I couldn't help but think the next day about why the game kept bothering me. Ultimately, what bothered me most was that the Game of Life was so easy and that isn't how life really is...

Life is hard!

But the more that I thought about it, the more I was reminded that while, yes, life is a pain, we get to choose which kind of pain we get to deal with. As Jim Rohn always taught:

“There are two types of pain you will go through in life, the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”

 

Most of us follow the rut we have carved out in life and face daily the pain of everything we wish we had in life, but don't. We wish we had a nicer home. We wish we had a more enjoyable and fulfilling career. We wish we had a better body. We wish we had an exciting life. And all of these regrets weigh down on our shoulders as we watch American Idol, the Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars and athletic competitions thinking: "Wouldn't it be nice to have that in my life." I am as guilty of this as anyone.

 

But here we are at the start of a new year, marking a new beginning for each and every one of us. Here we have the opportunity to resolve to be a little better and to move away from that pain of regret by choosing the pain of discipline to improve some small part of our life in some way. Are you resolving to improve your health? Your relationships? Your finances? Develop a new talent? Pursue a dream? I hope so!

 

My first resolution of 2016 is to revive this blog and to share bits of wisdom and inspiration that I have collected and gathered and those things that I find help me in my life as I play the game of life and purse my own dreams and aspirations. So come back often and leave a comment when you find something that you really connect with or that inspires you on your own journey. And may this new year, and every year that follows, be the best you have ever had!