5 Things Skyrim Taught Me About Self Improvement
1: You never know where you’ll learn something
Introduction
Skyrim is the fifth installment of the mideval role playing series The Elder Scrolls. The game was released in November of 2011 following up the previous hit Oblivion, which I loved. I preordered the game, and when it finally came to my freshmen dorm room, I played it for the next two weeks. I made excuses to miss mixers and bar nights, despite the 21 year old ID that had just arrived in the mail with my face on it.
In the game, you’re free to move about an open world, filled with dragons, skeleton people, trolls, and a variety of animals and people that want to kill you. In order to survive, you have to eat, train with weapons, and defend yourself. You can train in a number of crafts like cooking and making potions, as well as leveling up skills such as archery, blacksmithing, and enchantment.
Here are 5lessons I learned from the game that apply to my every day life-goal of self improvement.
1: You never know where you’ll learn something
What it means in Skyrim: There are a surprising number of ways to acquire goods and knowledge. You can talk to people, read books, pay for training, and attend schools. You can dig for metals, harvest herbs, steal jewelry, or weld your own armor. The point is, no matter where you are in the world, you can always find something to take away. Look around, keep your head up and your eyes open, because the thing you’re looking for can be right infront of you.
What it means in real life: There are a surprising number of ways to acquire goods and knowledge. You can go to a talk, take a class, read a blog, or hire a tutor. You can buy things at a store, trade for them at a fair, or steal them from your peers (ideas, mostly). One summer I watched almost all of the IMDb Top 100 movies. I learned more about communication that summer than I had in the past 16 years of my life. In everything you do, there is an opportunity to learn and improve. Don’t miss these opportunities, they’re the key to unlocking your potential.
2: Reading is the fastest way to get better
What it means in Skyrim: In order to get better at a skill like, lets say, two-handed weapons, you have to use two-handed weapons repeatedly. Every time you get a kill, you get better; however, the better you get, the slower your skills improve. When I started to get impatient, I looked online to find faster ways to level up. I discovered that there are a number of books around the map that can instantly give you a level up in different skills. I then went on a rampage of book reading to become a two-handed weapon master.
What it means in real life: I used to hate reading. One year in HighSchool, I took a bet with a friend that I could get above a B+ in English without reading a single book (what engineering hopeful wants to read Chaucer?). I won that bet, but it set me back years of reading. After that I thought I would never benefit from reading again, and boy was I wrong. When I got my first taste of entrepreneurship, I was forced into reading The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. That book taught me so much, so fast, I was hooked. Ever since then, I’ve been on a tear: How To Win Friends And Influence People, Getting More, Choose Yourself, Startup Owners Manual, Outliers… The list goes on and on. Pick something up that looks interesting, bury your nose in it, and learn.
3: Travel lightly, save room for new things
What it means in Skyrim: Each character, depending on their strength, can only carry so many things in their inventory. Its usually a lot, but it quickly adds up. Once you pick up a few axes and dragon bones, you’re quickly over-encumbered. This isn’t life threatening (usually), but it means that if you find something new, you have to drop something you’re carrying. As you can imagine, traveling with packed bags leads to tough decisions.
What it means in life: Possesions are important, and you need to keep alot of things around (clothes, valuables, wallet, phone, ect.). This isn’t a lecture on minimalism: There is someone out there surviving on a bicycle and laptop with a net-worth 100x larger than mine. What I mean is that if you close your mind to new ideas and opinions, you will stall your progress through life. Keep an opend mind and open ears. You will never learn anything while you’re talking, the people around you are a great resource for solutions and opportunities.
4: Pick one thing and get good at it
What it means in Skyrim: There are a number of ways you can attack opponents and defend yourself. You could distribute your skills across a number of weapon sets (bow & arrow, sword, magic), but then you’ll never be good enough at one thing to defeat stronger enemies. The other, more fruitful option is to get very good at one skill, such that no matter the enemy, no matter the situation, you’re so overpowering that you cannot be defeated. Then, once you’ve achieved mastery, begin another skill.
What it means in real life: Being a renaissance man or woman is a very admirable goal. You can be very mediocre at a number of things and be perfectly happy. If you really want to be successful, you have to stand out, and in order to stand out, you have to be the best in your field. It’s well known in the startup world that the best way to start your company is to be synonymous with solving one problem. Then, when people ask for it, offer different features and services. The same thing applies to personal growth. Doctors are really really good at medicine, Bankers are really really good at making money, and Lawyers are really really good at breaking the law (kidding). The point is, be the best at one thing, and the success will come to you.
5: Institutional learning is neither efficient nor cost effective
What it means in Skyrim: As mentioned before, there are many ways to improve your skills. Some are faster than others (i.e. books vs experience). The fastest way is to pay someone to teach you at a ridiculous premium (sound familiar). So yes, it does work, but its very expensive, and your money is most likely better spent on something you need.
What it means in real life: There is an expectation now that you need a four year degree to get any job. While this isn’t necessarily wrong, it does lead you to imagine other ways to get where you want. Somehow, spending your most valuable years paying absurd amounts of money to study someone else’s curriculum doesn’t add up. Instead of relying completely on an institution, spend your free time learning things that matter to you and your next steps in life. Foreign languages, computer languages, art, design, writing and music are all skills you can teach and practice yourself.
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