I just started a new book called SuperBetter by Jane McGonigal and it’s been hard to put down so far. The book is all about how when we play games, we actively seek out and attain psychological benefits that help us achieve our goals. What’s fascinating is that we can take those same rules and methods and apply them to reaching goals in out everyday life. McGonigal references countless studies and even 400,000 SuperBetter players that show that the rules she sets out can be used to tackle real work problems.

I’m not a much of a gamer (unless you count Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo!), but I love the idea of turning life into a game.  Have a big bad boss in your life? Grumpy neighbor?  Want to learn a language or run a marathon?  Recruit allies to help you develop your ninja skills to achieve your goal!  Know that every time you fail you learn a few new tricks, gain insight into what doesn’t work, and get a little better for next time.

One last thing that I find fascinating is taking concepts from one area of life and using them to solve problems in another. It makes me wonder where else this could be done? Could we make businesses and organizations SuperBetter? What about schools?