🕹️ TREE 684: Gamify

L A W R E N C E × J E F F
letter · 3
part · 2

Sometimes unpleasantness is part of having good things. (Having a beautiful deciduous tree means having to rake leaves.) I wrote yesterday that you can deal with the unpleasantness by flipping your response. Other times unpleasantness is simply not nice and there’s nothing to flip to. What do you do then?

Try turning it into a game.

I had a conversation with my mom about how she most things into a game:

Last autumn when energy prices went stratospheric I realised I would have to live in a colder house. I decided that while Christine was at work I would keep the thermostat at 16°C (61°F). 16° is a wonderful temperature outside on a sunny day. It’s pretty chilly when you work at a desk.

I decided that as an intelligent, warm-blooded creature I would turn staying warm into a challenge. Whenever I got cold, I did stretches, push-ups, mountain climbers, star jumps or burpees. I converted my desk into a standing desk. This was mainly to help my back and keep me from dying five years early. It had the added benefit of making movement while working easier. I eased out of winter healthier and in credit with my energy company. I’m doing the same challenge again this winter.

Want something bigger?

Comedian Rhod Gilbert gamified his cancer treatment by filming it and making a documentary, which I recommend you watch.

Even bigger?

It’s fiction but you can’t get much bigger. Roberto Benigni made a film about a father who turns living in a Nazi concentration camp into a game to protect his son. A Beautiful Life is one of my favourite films.

Gamify the unpleasantness.

Shimmering guitars for your Tuesday.

Grow slowly
Jeff

P.S. My book is the perfect gift for humans with functioning eyes. Bonus: it costs £1.50 less (and contains 442 fewer calories) than an ‘Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso’ and an ‘Espresso Roast Blondie’ from Starbucks.