Before I start this post, I’d like to say that this entire post was written by my father. Of course, he didn’t do the typing but, in our conversations while I was home for Christmas (which are always incredible), he planted this seed and I’m happy to share because it’s a simplification and concept for life and how we spend our days. If we think of life in this fashion, we’ll realize just how easy it is to change everything. Also, this is a good follow up to my Happy New Year post.
The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It was created by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity. It is a simulation of the daily activities of one or more virtual persons (“Sims“) in a suburban household near SimCity.
The Sims has improved over the years and has many elements that mimic real life. You’re born, you live and you die. What you do in between is up to you.
What is different from The Sims [game] and your real life [or maybe it’s just a dream?] All that IS true about life is as I said above that you’re born, you live and then you die and, as I said, what YOU do in the middle is up to you. The whole dream part is kind of the same lesson. Dad asked me:
“When you sleep, how do you know you’re not actually living and when you’re awake, how do you not know you’re actually dreaming? Which is what?”
Sorry, I’m moving away from the point of this post. Let’s go back to the video game aspect.
Are you a CEO running a Fortune 500 company? Do you take your private jet all over the world and dabble in the restaurant business as a side project? Do you rarely use those courtside Lake seats?
Are you a middle-aged woman living in a trailer park? Do your three kids get by on government handouts and are you unable to find work due to dropping out of high school? Do you take the bus to get around town and fear the day when Welfare checks will stop arriving?
These two profiles came from the same place and will back to the same place when they leave this Earth. I’d like to paint the picture thought that both of these people went to the same high school and had the same opportunities. Their parents worked at the same car dealership and provided the same lifestyle to both people and yet look at how different things were for them?
When I was a young boy, things were different in the world. If you got sick, you were just unlucky. Cancer, heart disease, stroke and obesity were due to genetics and being poor. If you went to a good school, the likelihood that your family had money was much higher. IF you were had a good life, it was mostly because you were destined to have a good life and you’d have to try pretty damn hard to screw it up. The lines between classes have blurred.
You can be healthy and poor. Buying the right foods at a low price, running and crossfit don’t require a gym membership and scholarships can be decided on your grades and how hard you try. The choice is YOURS.
How is this not like a video game?
I can curse McDonalds for being fat and curse the public education system for not getting into college and curse TV for the reason my kids don’t listen to me and even curse the government for not doing their part in helping ME get what I DESERVE but the future really depends on ME and my decisions.
If you don’t take your SIM to the gym, it gets fat and depressed. If you don’t call up and invite friends over, your sim is sad. If the sim misses work, it loses its job. If you don’t let the sim take out the trash, the house smells and without skills like reading and painting, your sim won’t get a raise at their job.
How is that different from real life?
Well, the appeal of The Sims is that it’s fun getting rewarded for our achievements and to have friends and be healthy and explore new towns and buy nice things with the money we make at our jobs.
It feels good!
If you live your life like a video game, things will be much easier. To get the better job, you study and read and if you want to have lots of friends, you put in the time to keep relationships and stay in touch and if you want to live a healthy life, you go to the gym or at least go for a jog and do moderate exercise.
Yet, we are content with PLAYING the game than actually doing it.
Of course, I completely understand that T’he Sims (the game) is entertainment just as TV, Internet, music, amusement parks and sadly, sex is. I get that these are all entertainment but how much entertainment do you need?
Eventually, your sim in the game has the brains to watch TV for 4 hours and then turn it off, look up at you and go “HEY I’M HUNGRY!” Why can’t we activate ourselves enough to have the same will power?
I understand that we’re no longer Hunter / Gatherers. I realize that we have lots of free time these days and efficiency of the output of work we do is at an all time high which allows us to take vacations, have lots of kids and watch TV but if you choose to do that in the Sims, your sim will get depressed, fat and eventually die.
Whatever system works for you is up to you. Living life with objectives, goals and achievements is a good start to build good habits. We have enough information to know exactly what to eat, how to exercise, what to study and how to get the job we want. We are in control of our own lives and like The Sims on our PC, the choices we make will lead us to our destiny.
Now, are you going to order pizza, invite a friend over or hit the treadmill? That choice is only a click away.