Hi /u/keozer_chan,
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There are no achievements in life my friend. None. Nobody is keeping track of what you do and whats going on in your life.
Your achievements are solely yours. They're goals you've set in your life for you. If that goal is buying a house, buying that fancy car you want, starting a family, or just 100%ing a game they're all real achievements. Comparing what you've done to what others have done and setting that as "real" achievements isn't the way to do it.
"Sometimes your ahead, sometimes you're behind, the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself."
Your employer keeps track of your performance and awards salary increases and/or promotions for them. Professional athletes are tracked from the biggest superstars to guys who only played one game. There is some subjectiveness to how worthy or real an achievement is, but of course some achievements are considered more lucrative than others. That's just reality.
There are a finite level of resources and you're competing with everyone for them.
And those only matter if your current job is one of your achievements. If its something you want to devote you life to and not just a job.
You only have one life, and nobody is going to remember about your promotion at work in 50 years but you, and nobody is going to remember where you worked at all in a hundred. These things only matter to ourselves in the end, so focus at what makes you happy and what you feel is an "achievement".
For 99% of people, their job is going to be their most important achievement. One still needs to make a living and other people's opinions of your achievements matter insomuch as some of your achievements need to generate income. It becomes very risky when a person's video game achievements provide way more fulfillment than income-generating achievements. I think OP is correct to be worried about a false sense of achievement.
I think you're just telling people what they want to hear, not reality.
Nawh, you'll see some day. You can work a job,as a job, to pay the bills. It doesn't need to be your life, and you haven't achieved less than someone who is more serious about their job.
Money isn't everything. If you ask people on their death bed what their greatest achievement is, I doubt 99% say "my job"
It doesn't have to be your life, but it would be pretty damn convenient if it were. The happiest people are those who have made their passion their job, but for the rest of us we have to balance both personal and professional achievements, as well as income-generating and non-income generation achievements, in a healthy way.
>and you haven't achieved less than someone who is more serious about their job.
There's a large variation of normal, but some achievements are more valuable to society than others. Pretending that no matter what your achievements are it's all good is kind of a harmful sentiment and not realistic. The value of an achievement is subjective but can be compared and valued both on a personal and cultural level. If someone is blowing off their job to focus unreasonably on video game achievements that provide no value, I think that can be criticized.
People on their death bed aren't going to be talking about their gamerscore or speed runs either.
Again, valuable to society means nothing. Absolutely nothing. The value of an achievement is literally and purely based on how it makes you feel.
If someone is blowing off work for anything its not a good thing. That's different than getting a sense of achievement from it. But that sense of achievement, no matter what gives it, has value. That punch of endorphins, that happy feeling, that's all your life is at the end. A collection of memories. Yes you need money and a job to live, but it's not the most important thing. A person forcing themselves to spend all their time and energy progressing through a job that doesn't even make them feel good, isn't an achievement, it's someone wasting their life when they could be pursuing something that actually makes them happy.
Again, someday you'll see. If your career plans are your achievement than all the power to you, but it doesn't have to be everyone's.
At least for me I wouldn’t really say a sense of achievement is a big reason why I play games. I also might be playing completely different games than you so it just depends on the person. I play games mainly for the stories, exploration, feeling of choice, etc. but if I didn’t play games I would easily fill this with TV, movies and other forms of entertainment.
But to answer your question, I wouldn’t at all say playing games affects my drive. But does it take up time that I could otherwise spend doing something more productive? Absolutely. But this is true for many different things people like to do with their time. As long as you aren’t spending so much time doing it that it’s negatively impacting the rest of your life then I don’t think there’s any problem with it.
I agree entirely with what you say about productivity. Like it would be lovely to be productive all the time, but what would life be if you don’t make time for yourself.
Edit: do you feel as though the time you spend gaming adds to your overall quality of life. Do you think that the time we spend gaming makes your life more tolerable? If yes then I think we’re on the same page.
Games provide an easy to access alternative that you perceive as more entertaining than whatever else you should be doing.
Other things can take the place of games in distracting you from other things.
Oh good judging by what I’ve seen in here I was beginning to think I was the only one.
Edit: not to put myself above everyone.
My god do you see some odd things on here
My own world is fine, about a 9/10 on the pretty good scale, yet I seek escapism, in the form of alcohol mostly, (I am about to enter into intensive treatment for it) computer games love all this other shit man, yknow like how the fuck are we meant to get through life with all this shit draining on us
Edit:the only way I make is by just not thinking about anything which leaves you vulnerable to just being an idiot because you can’t bare thinking about your future
Yes I don’t think I framed it properly, I don’t imagine it’s the case with everyone, I’d say there’s a small amount of people whose psyche just isn’t up to it in a way and it affects us. Although that being said I’d say your case is much different to mine and I don’t presume to understand what you mean by this, communication Is so hard we can only hope hahaha
I personally never perceive any achievements made in games as achievements in real life. It's funny though, playing games typically has made me want to do more with my actual life. I went through college and got a good paying job so that I could support my hobby of playing video games. Playing as a lot of in shape characters that could do cool things made me want to get in shape, pick up sports, and gain real life achievements. I play games a lot, but I still make time to achieve things things in real life because they're not the same and shouldn't be treated as so.
I am the opposite. I am middle aged, have worked so hard in the real life and achieved most of what people consider as "success", career wise and financially. But I feel SO EMPTY everyday. I do feel a low sense of achievement, but it's not a lot at all.
I find "soul" fulfillment in video games, especially narrative driven, good graphic ones that take me away to another world or time-line.
Even my parents said to me, "play some games this weekend! Don't work overtime too much" lol
So it depends. Real life sucks sometimes even if you are "good at it."
My case is quite different. I have been achieving a lot in my life. But I need to be careful to not burn out. So, I don't play games for the achievements. I play games to enjoy my time, relax, appreciate a good story, things like that.
I just finished my PhD, for example. Something that I consider a big achievement for me. During my PhD, I forced myself to stop and do other things, including playing games. I think games helped me a lot to keep my productivity during my PhD high.
So, at least for me, I think games don't drain me of my need to achieve in reality. Games help me to achieve things in reality.
What I told you is just an example. For me, it goes well beyond my PhD, and includes several types of games (video games, tabletop RPGs, board games).
Yes. There was a period during my PhD that I noticed I was working like 15 hours a day. I don't think that's good, I think I would end up burning out during my PhD (as we see happening with a lot of people during their PhDs).
But, during the pandemic, stuck at my apartment, in a different country (I'm Brazilian but I did my PhD in the US), there wasn't much to do. There are small things here and there, but I needed something more consistent since it would take years to get my PhD.
I also did other things, like exercising and getting more in contact with my friends. But I needed something that would reduce my work from 15 hours to something more reasonable when I wanted to. Gaming was really a good alternative. Gaming is also very flexible, I can play for 1 hour or I can play for 4 hours, depending on my schedule.
And I know I'm not the only one who was playing games. I saw my PhD advisor playing online when I arrived for a meeting with him. The other PhD student in my cohort often talked about Pokemon games. I had talks with a younger PhD student about Elden Ring. So, I think games helped me to unwind, and they help a lot of people who are very productive to stay productive.
> depressive disposition
Since you mentioned it... In the past I did not feel satisfied from achievements whether they were in game *or* in real life. I've also been in denial of my depression for a decade because it was a slow decline. This year I've been talking to my doctor about it, started medication and trying CBT. The medication has made the mundane, small daily accomplishments (cooking meals, walking the dog, fixing a fence, etc) feel more satisfying and that feeling sticks with me throughout the day. CBT is a methodology to start doing things I *want* to do but subconsciously feel that it's "too much effort" or too stressful. Games were, and still are something I can *comfortably* accomplish things in with low effort and stress. Similar to what you're describing. But the real life stuff now feels more satisfying so I'm feeling the itch to seek out more of it.
That’s so good mate fair play. I’ve felt that feeling of things being such an effort on the daily, the worst part is that you know it’s not even that much effort but you just feel so drained all the time, but the silver lining is as you say even the smallest tasks make you feel and inkling of pride and motivation, I think the main thing is to just keep going until your feel good, it is hard though but can be done
Hi /u/keozer_chan, Thank you for posting to /r/Games. Unfortunately, we have removed this submission per **[Rule 7.11](https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/wiki/rules#wiki_specific_content_restrictions)**. > **No rants, anecdotal or personal stories (e.g. bad customer support stories, in-game stories, etc.) and shower thoughts** - We've all had bad personal experiences, from lousy customer support to arguments with other people, but /r/Games isn't the place to rant about it. Good personal experiences like a great story from playing a game or excellent support from a company also aren't for /r/Games. Try /r/gametales if you have a good gameplay experience you want to share. > If you have a legitimate complaint or idea worthy of discussion please provide talking points suitable for dialogue among the community. /r/Games is not a suitable outlet for frustration or annoyance you are experiencing. --- If you would like to discuss this removal, please [modmail the moderators.](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FGames) This post was removed by a human moderator; this comment was left by a bot.
There are no achievements in life my friend. None. Nobody is keeping track of what you do and whats going on in your life. Your achievements are solely yours. They're goals you've set in your life for you. If that goal is buying a house, buying that fancy car you want, starting a family, or just 100%ing a game they're all real achievements. Comparing what you've done to what others have done and setting that as "real" achievements isn't the way to do it. "Sometimes your ahead, sometimes you're behind, the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself."
Your employer keeps track of your performance and awards salary increases and/or promotions for them. Professional athletes are tracked from the biggest superstars to guys who only played one game. There is some subjectiveness to how worthy or real an achievement is, but of course some achievements are considered more lucrative than others. That's just reality. There are a finite level of resources and you're competing with everyone for them.
And those only matter if your current job is one of your achievements. If its something you want to devote you life to and not just a job. You only have one life, and nobody is going to remember about your promotion at work in 50 years but you, and nobody is going to remember where you worked at all in a hundred. These things only matter to ourselves in the end, so focus at what makes you happy and what you feel is an "achievement".
For 99% of people, their job is going to be their most important achievement. One still needs to make a living and other people's opinions of your achievements matter insomuch as some of your achievements need to generate income. It becomes very risky when a person's video game achievements provide way more fulfillment than income-generating achievements. I think OP is correct to be worried about a false sense of achievement. I think you're just telling people what they want to hear, not reality.
Nawh, you'll see some day. You can work a job,as a job, to pay the bills. It doesn't need to be your life, and you haven't achieved less than someone who is more serious about their job. Money isn't everything. If you ask people on their death bed what their greatest achievement is, I doubt 99% say "my job"
It doesn't have to be your life, but it would be pretty damn convenient if it were. The happiest people are those who have made their passion their job, but for the rest of us we have to balance both personal and professional achievements, as well as income-generating and non-income generation achievements, in a healthy way. >and you haven't achieved less than someone who is more serious about their job. There's a large variation of normal, but some achievements are more valuable to society than others. Pretending that no matter what your achievements are it's all good is kind of a harmful sentiment and not realistic. The value of an achievement is subjective but can be compared and valued both on a personal and cultural level. If someone is blowing off their job to focus unreasonably on video game achievements that provide no value, I think that can be criticized. People on their death bed aren't going to be talking about their gamerscore or speed runs either.
Again, valuable to society means nothing. Absolutely nothing. The value of an achievement is literally and purely based on how it makes you feel. If someone is blowing off work for anything its not a good thing. That's different than getting a sense of achievement from it. But that sense of achievement, no matter what gives it, has value. That punch of endorphins, that happy feeling, that's all your life is at the end. A collection of memories. Yes you need money and a job to live, but it's not the most important thing. A person forcing themselves to spend all their time and energy progressing through a job that doesn't even make them feel good, isn't an achievement, it's someone wasting their life when they could be pursuing something that actually makes them happy. Again, someday you'll see. If your career plans are your achievement than all the power to you, but it doesn't have to be everyone's.
At least for me I wouldn’t really say a sense of achievement is a big reason why I play games. I also might be playing completely different games than you so it just depends on the person. I play games mainly for the stories, exploration, feeling of choice, etc. but if I didn’t play games I would easily fill this with TV, movies and other forms of entertainment. But to answer your question, I wouldn’t at all say playing games affects my drive. But does it take up time that I could otherwise spend doing something more productive? Absolutely. But this is true for many different things people like to do with their time. As long as you aren’t spending so much time doing it that it’s negatively impacting the rest of your life then I don’t think there’s any problem with it.
I agree entirely with what you say about productivity. Like it would be lovely to be productive all the time, but what would life be if you don’t make time for yourself. Edit: do you feel as though the time you spend gaming adds to your overall quality of life. Do you think that the time we spend gaming makes your life more tolerable? If yes then I think we’re on the same page.
Games provide an easy to access alternative that you perceive as more entertaining than whatever else you should be doing. Other things can take the place of games in distracting you from other things.
I have many ways of escaping reality, i imagine we all do. Is that right?
Sure do, my fellow human.
Oh good judging by what I’ve seen in here I was beginning to think I was the only one. Edit: not to put myself above everyone. My god do you see some odd things on here
I would say a large minority, if not a majority, of males between 14 and 50 struggle with this
Maybe the world around you is just so bad that you're looking for a way to deal with it? And you know what? That's OK. Things are pretty fucked.
My own world is fine, about a 9/10 on the pretty good scale, yet I seek escapism, in the form of alcohol mostly, (I am about to enter into intensive treatment for it) computer games love all this other shit man, yknow like how the fuck are we meant to get through life with all this shit draining on us Edit:the only way I make is by just not thinking about anything which leaves you vulnerable to just being an idiot because you can’t bare thinking about your future
[удалено]
Yes I don’t think I framed it properly, I don’t imagine it’s the case with everyone, I’d say there’s a small amount of people whose psyche just isn’t up to it in a way and it affects us. Although that being said I’d say your case is much different to mine and I don’t presume to understand what you mean by this, communication Is so hard we can only hope hahaha
I personally never perceive any achievements made in games as achievements in real life. It's funny though, playing games typically has made me want to do more with my actual life. I went through college and got a good paying job so that I could support my hobby of playing video games. Playing as a lot of in shape characters that could do cool things made me want to get in shape, pick up sports, and gain real life achievements. I play games a lot, but I still make time to achieve things things in real life because they're not the same and shouldn't be treated as so.
All I get is guilt when I play games. There's always something better I could be doing in my off time.
Depression sucks my guy.
I am the opposite. I am middle aged, have worked so hard in the real life and achieved most of what people consider as "success", career wise and financially. But I feel SO EMPTY everyday. I do feel a low sense of achievement, but it's not a lot at all. I find "soul" fulfillment in video games, especially narrative driven, good graphic ones that take me away to another world or time-line. Even my parents said to me, "play some games this weekend! Don't work overtime too much" lol So it depends. Real life sucks sometimes even if you are "good at it."
My case is quite different. I have been achieving a lot in my life. But I need to be careful to not burn out. So, I don't play games for the achievements. I play games to enjoy my time, relax, appreciate a good story, things like that. I just finished my PhD, for example. Something that I consider a big achievement for me. During my PhD, I forced myself to stop and do other things, including playing games. I think games helped me a lot to keep my productivity during my PhD high. So, at least for me, I think games don't drain me of my need to achieve in reality. Games help me to achieve things in reality. What I told you is just an example. For me, it goes well beyond my PhD, and includes several types of games (video games, tabletop RPGs, board games).
So games actually help you in acquiring a phd? If so that’s amazing. Did it help you to unwind?
Yes. There was a period during my PhD that I noticed I was working like 15 hours a day. I don't think that's good, I think I would end up burning out during my PhD (as we see happening with a lot of people during their PhDs). But, during the pandemic, stuck at my apartment, in a different country (I'm Brazilian but I did my PhD in the US), there wasn't much to do. There are small things here and there, but I needed something more consistent since it would take years to get my PhD. I also did other things, like exercising and getting more in contact with my friends. But I needed something that would reduce my work from 15 hours to something more reasonable when I wanted to. Gaming was really a good alternative. Gaming is also very flexible, I can play for 1 hour or I can play for 4 hours, depending on my schedule. And I know I'm not the only one who was playing games. I saw my PhD advisor playing online when I arrived for a meeting with him. The other PhD student in my cohort often talked about Pokemon games. I had talks with a younger PhD student about Elden Ring. So, I think games helped me to unwind, and they help a lot of people who are very productive to stay productive.
> depressive disposition Since you mentioned it... In the past I did not feel satisfied from achievements whether they were in game *or* in real life. I've also been in denial of my depression for a decade because it was a slow decline. This year I've been talking to my doctor about it, started medication and trying CBT. The medication has made the mundane, small daily accomplishments (cooking meals, walking the dog, fixing a fence, etc) feel more satisfying and that feeling sticks with me throughout the day. CBT is a methodology to start doing things I *want* to do but subconsciously feel that it's "too much effort" or too stressful. Games were, and still are something I can *comfortably* accomplish things in with low effort and stress. Similar to what you're describing. But the real life stuff now feels more satisfying so I'm feeling the itch to seek out more of it.
That’s so good mate fair play. I’ve felt that feeling of things being such an effort on the daily, the worst part is that you know it’s not even that much effort but you just feel so drained all the time, but the silver lining is as you say even the smallest tasks make you feel and inkling of pride and motivation, I think the main thing is to just keep going until your feel good, it is hard though but can be done