Three of you,
four of another
Play Rummy, Win at Life
What:
Take a pack of cards.
Answer one of 20 different questions on each of them.
Play a game of Rummy.
See what you think.
Edit and repeat as necessary.
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”
— George Bernard Shaw
Why:
Many of us invest a lot of energy fretting over what we should do or just unsure of what we want to do — as if there is only one right answer.
This way of playing cards is designed to physically demonstrate that there are a whole suit of options — of different kinds of you — that you can bring into play if you need, want or care to.
How:
Test what’s best by personalising a pack of cards using the method below (either on your own or together with friends) and then have a game of Rummy with anyone of your choice.
Personalising your Pack
❤ Hearts = Inspirations
<> Diamonds = Aspirations
# Clubs = Phases
∞ Spades = Behaviours
The four suits were chosen to span past, present and future as well as a mixture of concrete experiences and abstract influences that shape who you are.
…in each suit there are various themes too:
K/Q/J = The public you
10/9/8 = The professional you
7/6/5 = The adrenaline-seeking you
4/3/2 = You when no-ones watching
A = The lesser-known you
Personal, professional and adrenaline were the first themes to come to mind as they’re sometimes noted as three kinds of comfort zone. With that in mind, this exercise could additionally help you identify where the boundaries to your comfort zone(s) lie so you strike out above and beyond them.
I added the public theme in to reflect how we present ourselves and/or think we are seen by others — something increasingly relevant as social media allows us to edit and consciously craft a public persona as we choose.
The ace is meant to be a surprise and thus looks to uncover the lesser known facts or quirks about you and see how it contrasts with the rest of your pack.
At a glance
N.B. If you’re playing on your own, you might find it easier to answer left-to-right and top-to-bottom as per the table above since the focus shifts from the public to the personal. This was deliberate so that the first cards you fill in (Hearts — King to Ace) are hopefully fairly straightforward - people who inspire you for example.
Feel free to write and/or draw your answers directly onto your cards and click here for a short explanation of Rummy’s rules if you’ve never played it before.
Why Rummy?
Rummy’s recommended because it’s a slower kind of card game and one where you can look at your hand and have to constantly reevaluate the value of the combinations of cards in your hand and choose which cards to take a chance on when they come up in open play and then which cards to discard when necessary.
This process mirrors our own life choices, whether in who we model our aspirations, which behaviours we choose to deploy in response to a particular situation or even as we commit or withdraw from ambitions we hold dear.
Rummy’s mix of constant reevaluation, risk-taking and sacrificial swapping mean that it’s a perfect fit to help test your personal priorities.
As your cards will remain secret until the winner shows their hand, this format will importantly allow time for you to evaluate the cards as you play before discussing what came up with the other players after.
If:
Dispelling the myth of ‘finding yourself’ or ‘doing the right thing’ by proactively identifying and laying bare the wide range of options available to you should be a positive and energising exercise.
Doing it once is good.
Doing it again doubly so.
Doing it after that, who knows!
However, it’d be interesting to repeat regularly and see how your answers change over time.
Personalising a fresh pack each year around your birthday for example would be an interesting way to record your priorities, ambitions and influences at that time in your life — a travel-sized time capsule of you.
This is one of many MA Applied Imagination projects soon to be showcased at Central Saint Martins Degree Show in December. Follow us @maai2014 for updates on other projects as well as exhibition info and news.
If you liked this, disagreed with it, don’t get it or any other response — please get in touch, I’d love to hear your thoughts — good, bad and ugly!
Really though, all and any feedback is greatly appreciated to help make this better — thanks in advance!
