Gamifying My Life
Have you ever wanted to hit the master reset button on the console of life, blow the dust off your cartridge, delete your saved game slots, and see if you can create something new and more awesome?
Well, in the summer of 2012, I decided to play a new game—and you can too. This is the story of how I blended lifestyle and video game design to give myself more epic wins, including seven “cheat codes” on how you can do the same.
Origin Story
I had started seeing a psychologist, who diagnosed me with social anxiety and mild depression. I had no sense of direction. What did I really want besides money, comfort, sex, happiness, and adventures—that is, the basic common denominators that unite all humans?
I won’t pretend it was all bad. Actually, it was pretty damn good. I was living in Sydney’s Inner West area. The city ranks as the second-most-expensive one to live in, but you get plenty of bang for your buck. It’s vibrant and beautiful, frenetic and business-minded but with world-class beaches within Uber distance of everywhere: a work-hard, play-hard environment.
By that time in my life, I’d also clocked some great overseas adventures. I had a phone full of friendly enough Tinder…
