As one who used to be an obsessive gamer, I'm finding a lot of life analogies these days.
Old school video games are some of the hardest ever created. I'm talking the games for the original Nintendo, Sega, and even Atari.
The boss battles at the end of each level are especially interesting.
Because while they may be hard at first, there's a key to beating any boss in an old-school video game. Or even a newer game for that matter, but I think the older games started the trend.
It's finding the pattern.
Here's what I mean.
When the boss attacks you, the attacks aren't random. They usually come in a specific order. To the point where you can predict which kind of attack is coming next, and either dodge or counter.
Rare is the game with a boss that attacks random and different every time you face it.
Now comes the life analogy. Which, I like to think in a very weird way, video games prepared me for life. (It's basically the same thing, except you can buy real stuff with your winnings...sort of...)
We all have the proverbial boss battle. The difficult job. The challenging schedule. The colleague who gets on your nerves. The project that won't seem to get finished.
By now, you've probably noticed (ta-da!) there are patterns. Which can be frustrating because it feels like a cycle.
But can also be exciting.
Because if you know the patterns, then you also know what to do to dodge and counter your way to victory.
Then, it's just a matter of doing it.