Tip: Life is a game – you’d better learn how to play!
When I was just a kid growing up, I loved to play games. As a matter of fact, I still like to play games! I think my two favorite board games are Monopoly and Clue. The reason I like Monopoly so much is because it teaches you basic financial principles and helps you to understand how quickly you can either make money or get yourself into a real, first-class mess. Fortunately, and unfortunately, I have had both of those experiences in real life. Monopoly is a great game. However, if I had to choose between the two, I think my all-time favorite game is Clue. That is the game that I believe has done more to teach me how to use spatial reasoning than any other endeavor I have experienced.
If you have never played Clue, it is a great game and a lot of fun! A crime has been committed in a mansion and the object of the game is to discover WHO committed the crime, the room WHERE it took place, and the WEAPON used. There is a set of cards representing each of those 3 categories. One card is drawn from each stack and secretly placed in an envelope. Then the game begins. As the players progress around the game board, they are given opportunities to guess who committed the crime, in which room, and with which weapon. If another player holds one of the cards guessed revealing it, then that theory is disproved, and the game continues. When someone makes a guess which no one can refute with contrary evidence, then the secret cards in the envelope are revealed. If that player guessed correctly, they are the winner and the game is over.
For some reason, I remember that COLONEL MUSTARD committed the crime in the LIBRARY and he used the ROPE! Isn’t it amazing that I can remember that after all these years from just playing a fun game?
While I still enjoy playing board games, I have discovered that life is a game. There are so many ins and outs, ups and downs, in daily living and rules and principles must be followed to achieve daily success. And, if you do not know what they are, you will pay dearly for your ignorance. However, if you know the rules and know how to play the game of life, you will be rewarded greatly.
I have six grandchildren. I try to use everyday examples to teach them life lessons. For instance, when I see someone who is doing well in life, I point out to my grandchildren that that did not happen by chance or accident. Rather, it happened because that person learned how to play life’s “game” and followed the rules. Perhaps they got a good education, learned how to invest their money wisely, or worked for a good company. Perhaps they are an entrepreneur and have learned how to create opportunities for themselves and others. In other words, playing life’s game a certain way brings reward.
I also sometimes point out people that I see walking down the street who are in dire need of help. I point out to my grandchildren that those people did not end up in those situations because they were bad people; they just did not learn how to play the game of life correctly and now are suffering for it. I try to do it in a way that is not judgmental but is simply illustrative of how life works. You see, I want my grandchildren to learn how to play the game of life in a way that will help them to succeed rather than fail.
Recently, one of my wife’s best friends was extremely ill and went to a local doctor’s office on a Saturday morning. No physician was on duty, but she was able to see a P.A. (physician’s assistant). They ran a urine test and she was told she either had food poisoning or E.coli. She was given some medicine to help her feel better. The next day her appendix ruptured, and she had to have emergency surgery to remove toxins and infection. Her blood pressure dropped to 30/50 and she nearly died! Later she and her husband found out if they had done a simple blood test that would have revealed the fact she had appendicitis rather than food poisoning. Now I know to always ask for a blood test FIRST if I or any family member or friend gets sick.
I did not know that “rule” in the game of life. I have learned from the story I just shared with you the importance of having a blood test when you are really sick. That rule has taught me in an extremely important lesson on the “game board” of life!
Perhaps you already knew that, but I was unaware of it and so was the lady in my story. But, I guarantee you that she knows it now and will use that information in the future, if the need should arise!
Do you see what I mean? Learning how to play life’s game by life’s rules and principles is very important and advantageous. But, when you do not know certain information, then the situation can quickly turn against you and may cause some difficult circumstances to arise. Sometimes they are fatal.
I don’t know what your “game board” experience is in life, but I would greatly encourage you to be involved as much as possible. Get in the game; learn how it is played; then share the information that you have learned with others. And, in turn, ask them to share their information and experiences with you. That is what I call a win-win situation!
Tip: Life is a game – you’d better learn how to play!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
