Defeating Limiting Beliefs | Gamify Your Life

We often think that doing the chores is difficult or boring drudgery. We procrastinate things on our to-do list because we want to have fun instead or feel we need to do something else. We all have limiting beliefs around different subjects, but I want to share a few I had and how I’ve learned to deal with them.

Doing Chores is Boring Drudgery

That’s a pretty limiting belief, right? That’s absolutely no fun. If I’m not having fun or at least content while doing chores then I’m not aligned with how God-Source or my higher self views it. Can chores be fun? Yes.

1. Now I listen to something while cleaning. It may be a great podcast, motivational videos on YouTube, or a kick-ass music playlist. But I find something that I want to listen to and do my chores with it. Then I sing along and it feels fun, plus the room gets cleaned.

2. I have also spent time meditating on mantras or affirmations while doing chores. This way I am “killing two birds with one stone” and I love to be productive so I get the boost of knowing this is super productive and saving me time. If you can do something you feel like you should do at the same time, all the better.

3. Find a habit tracker of some sort. I tried one on my phone and I got out of the habit of checking in with it because I didn’t want it to make a bunch of notifications throughout the day. But I found a new habit tracker game,

   Habitica. You tell it the specific habits you want to start to incorporate, daily habits, and also specific to-dos. You can make the habits as easy or difficult as you like. You can tell the program that some are worth more because they’re more difficult. Also, consider putting “pay my bill” on there and watch it turn into something more fun to do over time. That process can help you feel like making money is easier to do as you appreciate how much you have and the ability to pay a bill when it comes due. You would mark down if you did it that day and earn gold, experience points, and special items like pet eggs and hatching potions. You can see your level increase as you get more things on your habit & to-do lists done. There are also items, guilds & quests. It’s a whole role-playing game. There are things you could pay for if you want (such as the group creation feature). But everything you need to play & get habits tracked is free.

Exercising is Boring & Difficult

Is it true that exercising has to be boring? No. I started to go to the State Park and take walks while listening to great music and I find I can have the most awe-inspiring, magical moments there. I have literally thought while walking through the park, getting into the flow of the music, that I have stepped into heaven. It’s when I get the best ideas for posts but also feel that there’s no need to because everything is truly alright in the world as it is.

Also, I figured there has to be a game where I can get exercise. When I got that 2020 stimulus check, I looked around at VR helmets but I realized with my glasses it wouldn’t work. I don’t think I can wear contacts as I have eye issues. So I looked online for exercise games that didn’t have to do with VR. I tried fitness boxing on Switch. It’s ok. But I also found Ring Fit Adventure for Switch.

This game is really helpful for enjoying exercise. You’re literally playing a game the whole time. While you’re focused on leveling up your character and collecting quest items, you’re leveling up yourself too. It’s never a waste of time to go play a game like this.

Work Is Boring

Well, my work is usually busy enough that I don’t have time to listen to music. But for those days when I do have time and it wouldn’t distract away from what I’m doing. I love to listen to music while I work.

Sometimes I even listen to game music while working, such as Tetris Effect: Connected. Have you ever considered playing music from the game you spent a lot of your free time playing? Honestly, it can make your work life sort of merge with it. It starts to feel more like a game which gives you a sense of ease. Sometimes people make mixes of music also. After playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild a bit, I would listen to this while working.

You can find ways to add things you really enjoy to what you normally consider drudge work. Music is my way, but ask yourself, “What could I do to enjoy this more?”

Gamify Your Life

This was a good video from the Better Than Yesterday YouTube channel:

In it, he describes what games do well and how to incorporate them into our own lives to better get our real-life goals.

1. You need a clear objective - Usually, a game will have a large objective, but there are mini-quests also. Habitca allows you to set your own habits that you can mark off as finished when you do.

2. Progress is visible - In a game, you can see how well you’re progressing and when you’re close to leveling up you will want to stay in the game for a longer period of time. I know I have spent more time playing Ring Fit Adventure (RFA) just trying to accomplish some mission or level up before I log out. RFA is good for this. Habitca is also. You could also just make your own list or visual marker for this.

3. You gain rewards for your effort - It can be difficult in our real life to see the rewards of exercising every day or eating healthy each day. It takes a lot longer to see this progress. But if you add it to Habitca or use RFA, you would see tangible rewards in the game. Those are the sorts of things that give us dopamine hits and lead us to want to come back. Well, if you care about those rewards anyway. You have to enjoy the game. You will want to look for something that fits your personal style. But I am telling you that there is something you can do that will make it fun or more enjoyable for you. It’s a limiting belief that says there isn’t.

4. Variety & Novelty - Games have variety and novelty. There is always something new to be introduced to. Many games have updates, new items, or new skins. New side-quests, etc. You can try to look for ways to do the same thing in another way. Listening to music or podcasts can give me a totally different experience washing dishes. Yes, it can get boring when it feels exactly the same every single time. So switch it up.

5. Constantly Being Challenged - Games always give you a little challenge, but nothing you can’t rise to meet it. You gain confidence as you go, and find more difficult challenges, but, once again, it’s not too difficult that you can’t meet it. Then you’ll get another challenge. Ring Fit Adventure is great for that since you can tell it to increase the difficulty (or lower it) every day if you need to. But, in life, we tend to stay in the same spot, not pushing our limits or staying away from things we consider to be a challenge. Being afraid of a challenge can keep you in a boring job.

6. Another factor games have is the social aspect if you want to bond with others in your quests. I don’t care about that myself. But Habitca does have guilds where you can chat with others. There are plenty of groups online for people who want to improve their lives. You need only search for others like you if that’s what you’re into.

Conclusion

I spent a lot of time growing up playing video games and I wanted to improve my life. Of course, I manifested a way to do them at the same time. No, I don’t always stay with them. This is one of my struggles. But I find these things to be very very helpful. I know that it’s possible. Enjoying leveling up my body and mind and life is something I can enjoy. Sometimes I will have limiting beliefs that get in the way, but I know that a belief is just something I continue to think. I will constantly be questioning those beliefs and challenging them and appreciating the fun ways I have discovered to track my progress.

I have also found that focusing on tracking my habits and figuring out what I can personally take responsibility for in my life has caused me to feel more empowered, which is what happens when you have an internal locus of control versus an external locus of control.

Focusing on tracking your habits as if you are playing a game can also help you to ignore the rest of the world, the things that make you feel discouraged. Some would say that’s a bad thing, but it’s not. When you feel more empowered, you can come “back to the world” from an inspired state and help the world far more than you would from a disempowered state of mind.

We all need breaks to help reset our minds. This helps us to see things from a new, higher, empowered perspective, which is the best way to uplift humanity.

Have you ever tried to gamify your life? How did that work out if you have?