One Sec… Let Me Just Finish This Game
I’ve been addicted to the digital world… are you?
I want to begin by saying this article is not going to portray the digital world as the devil. I simply want to put a few thoughts into your head that weren’t there before so that you can think about your own relationship with gaming. There are some questions are at the bottom of this article.
I am currently going through a phase of completely cutting out video-games.
Playing games online has it’s place and I do thank it for helping me in fostering friendships that I hold dear to this day.
HOWEVER, there have been points where I have allowed it to consume my life and both my physical and mental health were affected.
Humble Beginnings
I played games throughout my childhood but it began as a mostly single-player hobby that did not take up much of my time.
Around the age of 12, I began to play online games as I got into a new friend group. We especially enjoyed FIFA and Call of Duty as they were the most mainstream.
I was never a sporty kid but me playing FIFA got me into playing football with my new friends and this became a new hobby of mine. I now love to play football and have met many new friends because of it.
This sportiness has led to many other benefits to my life but I’ll leave this for another time. I just wanted to point out that there have been benefits too.
As I moved school when I was 13, playing games brought me instant comradery that I could capitalise on to make new friends easily. I quickly gained and maintained friends thanks to gaming. However, I’m sure this can be said for other hobbies too.
The Addict
In school, I was a pretty average student. I had friends and I had a laugh and I played loads of football… but I had pretty average grades.
This level of grades weren’t helped by the fact that when I got home, I would play games with my friends. I would pretty much always be the last person to take his headset off for the night.
Oh, shit! Spanish is due in tomorrow morning!
I would not do my homework, I had more important things to do. I had FIFA matches to win, I had stories to laugh about, and I also had to settle down that kid who’s been chatting shit saying he could beat me in Call of Duty.
I played into the persona and felt a real need to prove myself at being good at these games.
Because I spent so much time on them, I wanted to be good and because I wanted to be good, I spent so much time on them. It was a loop that I would be stuck in for years.
I have always been competitive and it has always hit home when I don’t win at anything but now I take it constructively and work harder. I always did that but when I lost FIFA, it felt like I was being personally attacked. It hurt.
I have never been more angry in my life than when I have been playing FIFA
Writing that sounds really sad lol. But it is true.
I have lashed out beyond belief to people I care about because I could not handle the personal attack I felt when losing and that’s because I viewed myself as the guy who plays a lot of games, I had no other personality traits in my head, not healthy for me at all.
Many times I found myself hungry because I rushed dinner into a brisk 3 minutes because I wanted to GeT bAcK tO mY gAmE. A real epic gamer.
Gaming did perpetuate some negativity in my life but that is not the games’ fault, it is mine. I should have handled myself better.
Long story short, this time in my life could have been spent more wisely by doing and having fun. It could have been spent better by solidifying healthy fitness and eating habits into my life.
My time playing games is not something I regret as it has brought me to where I am today blah, blah, blah but that is probably only because I had no real ambition back then, all I wanted was have Ronaldo at left wing… had to settle for Messi in the end…
Now, I have the drive to be really bloody good at a lot of things and if it wasn’t clear already, I have a long way to go until I get there. I need to free up my time so that I can make that happen.
Rehab
It was never really brought up to me as being a problem, so it was on me to decide for myself that the life I was living was not the one I wanted. I am happy with this as it began my journey at a place where I had be accountable and where I was choosing the life that I wanted to live, not being told how to live by someone else.
I started to incorporate healthy habits into my life that would lead me to the life I desired and to man that I am today.
I went to the gym.
I read self-development books.
I kept my nutrition in check.
I got my much needed sleep.
I became more social and went OUTSIDE with friends. Madness.
I got involved with a local sports team.
I learnt skills that I wanted to learn.
I gained a growth mindset.
During this time, I hadn’t cut games off as it has always been a great way for me to connect with my friends but I had limited it and felt in control over it. And because I had begun to add the things I wrote above into my life, I had a lesser desire to play, which made it easier.
Forging Perfection
OK, perfection is a little while off but I am working hard to get as close as I can to it, I promise!
Games are out of my life for now so I can regain my focus. Once I’m happy with my productivity and happiness, I’ll let it come back into my life.
(Side-note: When you cut games out after playing a lot, it is easy to fall into the trap of letting something else fill that hole, like TikTok. Don’t let that happen.)
I do actually have a lot of thanks to give to video-games.
I’ve bonded over co-op campaigns with close friends, I’ve extended my circle and made new friends, I have a widespread feeling of comradery with a wide range of people and my personal favourite… I’m learning game development!
Game dev is something I’ve always been super interested in and have touched upon in the past. Now, I want to give it a proper go and release some commercial titles as well as starting a YouTube channel.
Yeah, that’s right, be excited!
Your Reflection
Here are some questions for you to deliberate over. Just think if your gaming is worth these lifestyle trade-offs.
Are you getting enough sleep?
Are you disappointed in the amount of work you are getting done to move your life forward?
Do you feel ashamed when you play games?
Are you skipping meals or rushing eating to get back to gaming?
Do you feel you are missing out on other parts of life by playing games?
If you can think of any more questions to help anyone else out reading this, please put them in the comments!
All of this can also apply to things like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, not just gaming. Just be mindful of what you are doing and as long as you are happy with your lifestyle, keep at it!
I hope this has helped someone who has been struggling with this as I was when I was younger.
Keep hustling,
-Tiago :)
