List #13: 30 Games I’m Playing in Life
30 Lists of 30 to Celebrate my 30th Birthday
30 Lists of 30 to Celebrate my 30th Birthday
The What & Why Behind This Project:
This year I turn 30. And my gosh, I have been thinking about it a lot. I don’t know if it’s the pandemic, or the fact that this milestone is loaded with many societal expectations, but my mind has inundated me with reflections and memories from the past, with questions arising about my life choices and lesson learnt, about my expectations of being a human and about my desires for the future. And this combined with pandemic reflections has meant there has been a lot on my mind….🤔
I started writing a series of questions and lists of all the elements I wanted to capture and articulate. There were a lot, unsurprisingly; 30 years is a long time really! So I gave up on the 1 list idea that I normally write (30 reflections/lessons turning 30) and decided to write 30 lists.
30 Lists of 30, for my 30th Birthday.
Who are these lists for, you might wonder? I started writing reflections many years ago to get to know myself better. And when I shared these raw and real accounts with friends I discovered that what I wrote about my individual journey, touched upon something universally human. Beyond the masks and labels we wear is a messy, beautifully complex life, with highs and lows. And more similar to others than we might think.
So I share them in the hope that you too might feel something — intrigue, joy, resonance or maybe even difference — as you reflect on what it means to be a human. I recognise that my experiences are my own, that some come from a place of privilege and that they may not all be relatable or interesting to you. I know I can’t please everyone, so take what you can…(and let me know what lands!).
So, Back to Lists…
The Why Behind List #13: 30 Games I’m Playing in Life
In October 2020, I wrote a post called ‘Is this the Matrix?’ where I explored the idea that life is really about playing games that we are programmed to play, and that provide us with big feelings that fulfill our human needs — pleasure, status, security, belonging, meaning. My friend Joshua helped me articulate it well with his essay ‘Five Fundamental Feelings’ — we trade the resources we have (e.g. time) to play the games that give us certain feelings if we play them well (e.g. status or belonging). It got me thinking about the main feelings I’m craving and how the games I have chosen to play right now reflect this.
List #13: 30 Games I’m Playing in Life
- The survival game (everyone is playing this game)
- The work game (a game society often glamourizes and says we should do more of)
- The mindfulness and spiritual awakening game (high meaning)
- The personal development & reading game
- The consumption game (linked to the work game story :that you will have a happy life if you get a well-paying job and can afford to buy whatever you wish)
- The academic research game
- The giving, altruism and impact game
- The entrepreneurial / startup game (high meaning, pleasure, status medium belonging, low security)
- The PR game (high in status)
- The community-building game (high in belonging)
- The capitalism game
- The coaching game
- The dating & romantic relationships game
- The travelling game (high in pleasure and meaning)
- The artist / creator game (high in meaning, pleasure and medium status)
- The investing game (high in security)
- The fame game
- The beautiful home design game
- The knowledge and wisdom game
- The friend game (meaning, pleasure, belonging, security, status)
- The family game (meaning, pleasure, belonging, security)
- The health and fitness game
- The running game
- The altruism / impact games
- The having a garden game
- The money game
- The optimise everything in life game
- The community-building game (high meaning, pleasure, belonging)
- The writing game (meaning, pleasure, status)
- The existential game (questioning the games game!)
☕ If you enjoyed reading this list and want to support my writing I would love a coffee!
👉 https://www.buymeacoffee.com/30Listsof30 👈
Your support will help me fund my PhD starting in October 2021 at the School of Design Engineering, Imperial College, London. The subject: Human Connection & Conversation Design. This research lab > interactionfoundry.com
Want To Read More Lists?
I’m publishing one list every day in August (and will add the hyperlinks below).
- 30 Reasons Why I’m Writing 30 Lists of 30
- 30 Questions I’m Living Right Now
- 30 Ways To Have An Awesome Conversation
- 30 Risks I Took & What I Learnt
- 30 Ways to Create and Cultivate Community
- 30 Questions I Reflect on Every Saturday Morning
- 30 Essential Items I Pack Backpacking
- 30 Skills We Need But Don’t Teach
- 30 Things I Wasn’t That Grateful For But Am Now
- 30 Reflective Questions that Lead to Fascinating Conversations
- 30 Signs I am Most Definitely an Adult
- 30 Beliefs I Changed about Myself & Life
- 30 Games I’m Playing in Life
- 30 Confusing Messages I’ve Internalised About Who To Be & How to Live
- 30 Ways I’m Totally Imperfect
- 30 Considerations for Designing Meaningful Human Connection Experiences
- 30 Mundane Experiences That Can Actually Be Quite Magical
- 30 Words To Describe Elements of My Pandemic Experience
- 30 Things I’ve Learnt About Human Behaviour That Show Up Everywhere
- 30 Words I Love
- 30 Parts of Me
- 30 Principles I Live By
- 30 Lessons from 5 Years of Entrepreneurship and Creating
- 30 Health, Productivity, Creativity and Happiness Optimisation Experiments I’ve Explored And The Life Hacks that Resulted From Them
- 30 Things I am Proud of (Achieving) Before 30
- 30 Experiences (& Goals) For the Next 10-ish Years
- 30 Things I Need To Let Go As I Move Forward Into The Next Chapter
- 30 Journal Entries from the Last 20 Years
- 30 Lists That Didn’t Make it to the 30 Lists
- 30 Reflections Writing 30 Lists of 30
Follow me on Medium to read them.
Still Curious?!
💬 Watch my TEDx talk: Talking to Strangers: Having a Meaningful Conversation
📖 Read about some of my work recently published in Entrepreneur.com How to Become a Master at Talking to Strangers
✍️ Stay connected through Conversations With Georgie: The Home of My Thoughts as a Life-Long Learner. Curious. Deep. Exploratory. Real and Raw.
📧 Contact Me: Georgie@Triggerconversations.co.uk
