Beyond NPC: Taking Charge of Your Story
Prioritising what matters, in the right order
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the importance of prioritising in the correct order.
There’s an analogy from the world of video games that captures this concept: the idea of an “NPC” or “Non-Player Character.” In video games, NPCs are the characters who follow simple scripts, lacking independent thought and existing only to fulfill a background role.
The NPC meme has taken on new meaning. It suggests that many people drift through life, becoming “NPCs” in the stories of others — present but without true agency, direction, or purpose.
Are We Just Background Characters?
After 18 years of marriage and then a divorce, there were nights I’d wake up feeling like I was living someone else’s script.
I’d invested so much in my life, in my siblings, in others around me — only to realize, at some point, that something essential was missing.
It was as if I had spent years playing a role, filling spaces in other people’s lives, but losing my own direction in the process.
