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Work is a Game
"Any job is a game." "A game consists of freedoms, barriers and purposes." -- L. Ron Hubbard from The Problems of Work
Yes, your job is a game! Making money is a game. Succeeding in life is a game. And it can be as fun as playing a card game, a football game or a video game.
If you look at your job as a game, you become more successful. You win more often if you understand and work on the three parts of a game: FREEDOMS, BARRIERS and PURPOSES.
Three Parts of a Game
FREEDOMS are opportunities to succeed. Anything that helps you win the game are freedoms. Examples: your education, your hard work and the support you get from others.
BARRIERS are the problems you must solve or get through to win the game. They include the rules, problems and competitors.
PURPOSES include the goals, the accomplishments and the rewards.
For example, In a football or soccer game, if you are running down the field, and someone tries to stop you, he is a BARRIER. Your strong legs, teammates and the open field are your FREEDOMS. If you get past the person, you will score a goal which is your PURPOSE.
When you are trying to get a good job, the BARRIERS may include the other people who want that same job, your poor work history or your lack of experience.
The FREEDOMS that help you get the job include your charming personality, your honesty and your education.
Your PURPOSES may be to earn respect, do something useful and make money.
Like winning a football game, if you get the job, you feel great! You won!
But if you do not win the game because you do not get the job, you feel unhappy. You lost.
Three Steps to Winning
Because you know the parts of a game, you can improve your chances of winning.
1. First of all, if you wish to win the game of work, you cannot get upset about the BARRIERS. Barriers are included in all games.
For example, if you were a football player, you would not get mad because the other team showed up (a barrier) or because the referee enforced a rule (another barrier). You would not run away nor make up your own rules.
You would get into the football game, play by the rules and try to beat the other team with your talents and skill (freedoms).
The same thing applies to work. For example, if you are looking for a job, you do not get upset if something gets in your way. You have simply run into a barrier. You find another place to apply for a job. You do not give up.
If you dislike a rule at work, you still need to follow the rule because the rule is part of the game. Skilled players follow the rules. Successful business people comply with the government's rules (laws). You can try to get a bad rule changed, but until it is changed, you follow the rule.
If you do not get the raise or promotion you want, you persist. You find a better approach. You change your strategy.
If you own a business that is getting worse, you find the real barriers and attack them. You get smarter than the problems.
Whenever you lose, you go back to the chalk board and figure out a new plan. You do not beat up the competitor or cheat. Instead, you figure out a way to follow the rules and win the game, despite the barriers.
2. Next, concentrate on the PURPOSE. Have you ever seen a football player run to the wrong end of the field? He forgot his purpose!
The same thing can happen at work. You forget why you are there. You are not moving toward a goal.
What is your purpose at work? Maybe you want to do a good job or make a lot of money. Maybe you want to provide extraordinary service or be the best in your profession.
To win the game of work, you need a purpose and you need to follow that purpose.
If you have no purpose or you forget your purpose, you make no progress. You make bad decisions. You do the wrong things. You lose the game.
When you have a clear purpose and put everything you have into that purpose, and never give up, you win the game.
3. Finally, work on your FREEDOMS. You improve your current freedoms and add new ones until you win the game of work every day.
So what are your freedoms at your work?
Your mental strength is one freedom. Just as you exercise your body to build your strength for a football game, you train your mind to do your job better than ever. You go to school. You do courses. You read books. You constantly learn.
Another freedom in a game is your team. You get them to help you. If you get mad at a teammate, he won't want to back you up. If you help your teammates, they support you.
To win a game, you listen to your coach. Who are your work coaches? Perhaps your boss, your parents, a successful friend, a consultant or a financial advisor. Your coaches can be everyone who wants to help you. Listen to them.
Anything you do to prepare for the game is a freedom. For example, if you eat well and get a good night's sleep, you do a better job than if you stay up all night drinking.
Mental alertness is also an important freedom in the game. This means you stay in the present. If you are running a machine while thinking about your date last night, you might break the machine or hurt yourself. The better your concentration, the better you play the game.
Your Game Strategy
Work out your game plan to success right now with these steps.
1. Write down your PURPOSES for working. Why are you there? What do you want to accomplish?
2. List all the BARRIERS. What do you dislike about your work? What gets in your way to accomplishing your purposes? What is not going well?
3. Make a list of all your FREEDOMS. What do you like about your work? What makes it worthwhile? What is going well?
4. Go back through each list. Add more purposes, more barriers and more freedoms. Make sure every part of the game is on the list. Just sorting out these three parts of a game can give you a boost of excitement to win your game.
5. Work out how you can stay on your purposes all of the time. If you are not excited to accomplish your purposes, consider more interesting purposes, bigger purposes or more beneficial purposes.
6. Work out how to handle the barriers. Sometimes you can dance around the barrier, use a different solution, or even turn the barrier into a freedom!
7. Work out how to strengthen the freedoms on your list and add even more freedoms.
8. Continue to work on all three parts of your game until you are winning as never before.
Copyright © 2006 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. Take better control of your life with the TipsForSuccess coaching website at www.TipsForSuccessCoaching.org. For permission to copy, print or post this article, go to www.tipsforsuccess.org/reprint_info.htm or click here. To subscribe, buy books, contact us or learn more about TipsForSuccess.org, click here. |
