In life, we wait a lot. Awaiting the appropriate moment. we hold off until we feel ready. expecting a promotion. Afterward, awaiting a bonus. awaiting a change in our health. Awaiting approval of our appearance.
Waiting for our turn is an elusive ideal created to keep us in line as responsible members of society who believe in doing what we are told and not thinking too much for ourselves.
Additionally, life continues while we wait. Fast.
But it's not necessary.
Looking closely at a beloved childhood game like Snakes and Ladders, the Online Ludo game, e.t.c. is the best approach to explaining how to play the game of life.
Snakes and Ladders
Let's first review the three primary ways to move across the board in Snakes and Ladders:
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Square by square: You roll a 3, so you move three squares at a time. You move 5 squares if you roll a 5. I could go on forever.
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Ladders: When you land on a ladder, you get the chance to "climb" it, moving you farther forward on the board than you would have with a dice roll.
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Snakes: After landing at a snake's head, you slide down to its tail, which forces you to move backward.
For most of the game, players go square by square, occasionally bumping into a ladder to move forward or a snake to move backward. However, everyone is often taking one step at a time, waiting for their turn, and then repeating the process. Moving in the right direction consistently yet slowly. The game advances one player to the end of the board faster than the others, making that player the winner while everyone else is generally moving forward and remaining on course.
Life
The comparison will show that there is one significant distinction between life and Snakes and Ladders. We'll start by looking at the similarities.
There are three main ways we advance through life, similar to Snakes and Ladders:
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Linear Motion: A continuous but gradual forward movement. You abide by the law, advance gradually in your career, and perhaps make some financial savings. Almost no risk was taken. The way is obvious; it will take discipline, but you're headed in the correct direction.
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Exponential Motion: You seize the day, seek out opportunities, fresh experiences, and shortcuts everywhere you can, accelerating past others who are following you along a straight route.
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Reverse Motion: Regression, going the wrong direction, losing ground. In comparison to where you were previously, you drop further. Negative thinking, complacency, neglect, and occasionally bad luck are the usual causes of this.
Linear Motion
The majority of individuals lead linear lives, putting one foot in front of the other with care and taking each step properly prepared. A linear life progresses slowly but steadily and in the proper direction. more gradually than is necessary. You'll most likely reach your destination through the process eventually. Going one step at a time is difficult and laborious, therefore there is a chance that you won't get there quickly (or at all).
The majority of people must move at this linear speed—timidly, cautiously, and submissively—for society to function correctly. The world is not set up so that everyone can succeed. The majority of people are expected to cautiously follow the security of a predetermined road while proceeding at life's equivalent of a square-by-square pace.
Similar to snakes and ladders, this game relies on the majority of players making modest advancements each move to maintain hope while simultaneously propelling the winner to the end of the board.
Exponential Motion
Sometimes it's better to look up, worrying less about your next move and more about going where you want to go, faster, rather than down at the square in front of you.
These chances for rapid growth or acceleration are frequently not visible and may even be hidden, necessitating extra work to find them. These practical shortcuts are the ladders of life. the quick route to your destination.
These ladders will become apparent as you start looking for them. Better ways to travel and conduct business. You might not be sure that these quick cuts would be effective (the linear, square-by-square path is one of certainty, but ladders are not). You need to be more wide-eyed, upbeat, forceful, and imaginative when climbing ladders. They ask you to accept danger and uncertainty in exchange for the possibility of advancing you to your next location.
It can be unsettling to climb alongside individuals who are going square by square while eschewing their grind in favor of an uncertain and occasionally risky leap of faith. However, doing so can also be extremely effective and thrilling.
Ladders in the real world make life exponential.
Ladders cram life with interest, adventure, and purpose. By realizing our potential and accelerating our progress toward our goals, they enhance our quality of life.
Contrarily, ladders paradoxically slow down the sensation of time passing by while accelerating our travel along our life's route. They assist us in avoiding what is unnecessary, maximizing what is, and finding shortcuts whenever possible. Time doesn't seem to be flowing as rapidly because of this acceleration, which gives each day a sense of presence and enthusiasm that makes it distinct from the previous one. The density of experience produced by this daily improvement lengthens time. In contrast, a linear life makes one day blend into the next, giving the unavoidable impression that time is passing quickly.
where to find ladders, how to utilize them, etc.
The purpose of ladders is to enable you to deviate from the straight route and generate your own luck. You must be present, honest, and self-assured to access them. You must be eager and enthusiastic to embrace new and unexpected activities, experiences, and people.
You might get your next job, a ladder, by happening to run across the perfect person in a strange place like the metro. Asking a question at a seminar can bring someone who could transform your life forever—ladder—to your attention. Publishing your work (whether it be writing, music, photography, or films) online can open doors to abundance and opportunities at a pace that is beyond the reach of most: the ladder.
Ladders are dangerous by nature. You must be prepared for the shortcut to fail. Having a post that is not favorably accepted. The talk not going good at all. Rejection. losing direction. Possibly falling off the ladder and landing back where you began, perhaps with some injuries, but undoubtedly better off and more evolved for having tried. When dangers are seen through the prism of urgency and ambition, they become more tolerable.
But there are also appropriate times and places for going linearly.
When to use linear motion
In the "building" phases of our life, when we must move slowly and carefully, paying attention to where we put our foot next, the square-by-square, linear trajectory is helpful. When learning something new, whether it be a new skill set, a new career, or a new subject, it's necessary to move gently and steadily.
However, it's time to search for the next ladder once we have attained a critical quantity of knowledge, awareness, or expertise.
Going slowly while moving quickly allows us to move in squares.
We should refrain from ever searching for ladders to quicken the voyage. Remember that people who never climb a ladder usually lose.
Backward Motion
When we get in our own way (or life gets in the way), life's snakes show up and knock us back a few squares. Sometimes we lose our routines and let excellent habits deteriorate, which makes it harder for us to advance. We might begin to think negatively, which would stop us from moving at all, much less exponentially. And occasionally, we simply receive a poor hand of
cards that sets us back a little. However, snakes are only momentary; they are only impediments; nothing that we cannot overcome.
It's crucial to think of these instances of reverse motion as a bad bounce that we can recover from and alter course from.
These are difficult times because if we don't grasp this reverse motion, we risk continuing to fall backward; the snake's tail seems to get longer as we ride it, taking us further and further away from where we started.
Similar to how moving up ladders can begin to feel simple and generate positive momentum, we can also go down a path of compounded backward motion, which leads to a negative spiral.
We sometimes only need to go back to what we know, which is walking square by square, slowly and steadily up and to the right, to get back to where we were, in order to prevent this. Once we are at ease, we may start seeking those ladders once more—those obstacles that clear the way and provide us an abundance of life, returning us to the exponential territory.
Although there are many parallels between snakes and ladders and life, there is one significant distinction: our fate in life is not determined by the throw of the dice or by luck. What we chose to do when we get up each morning determines it.
We constantly surround ourselves with ladders. To adequately catch them, we simply need to pay attention, step outside of our comfort zone, and accept some risks.
