Vital Life Lessons Video Games Have Taught All Of Us

Video games are one of the main driving forces in technology, especially in the field of personal computing, and we sure have come a long way ever since the very first iteration was played in an oscilloscope.

In fact, gaming has become increasingly popular over the past few years that the global video game industry has netted a total income of $91.5 billion last year.

But more than providing entertainment, these collections of virtual shapes and sounds are also good ways to learn about life. Here are a few lessons we’ve picked up from a couple of titles.

1. If you meet a few enemies, it only means you’re going in the right direction.

Super Mario
Attaining your goals isn’t easy; you need to mow down countless mooks before you can advance. And this is true in life: you need to keep shooting your way until you get to the finish line.

2. You earn some, and you lose some.

Counter Strike
Fans of the first-person shooter know that you have to buy your guns at the start of the game. While you earn money based on your kills and team victory, much of your success boils down to how you spend your money wisely.

(See Related Topic: What Are The Valuable Lessons About Life And Money That We Can Learn From Manny Pacquiao?)

3. Save. A lot.

Most single mission games
Quite literally, the “save” function is your best friend, if you want to keep what you’ve worked hard for. Saving regularly can help you deal with the direst of situations more confidently.

4. Cheating takes away the fun.

Contra
It’s tempting to press a series of “magic” buttons if you want to emerge a sure victor, or if you’re stuck at a certain level. Using a few sneaky codes is fast and convenient, sure, but if you do so, you’ll have nothing to show for in the end.

5. Your individual talent means nothing if you can’t play with a team.

Dota 2
If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together as a unit. No company ever succeeded from the workings of one man. There truly is strength in numbers—especially when you’re off to battle hordes of enemies.

6. Quitters never win.

Pokemon
Let’s say you’ve been going through the same boss battle for a couple of times already, and you’re tempted to put down the controller and finally call it quits. Don’t. There is only one way to fail a challenge—and that’s to run away from it.

7. Sometimes, the best solution to a problem is the easiest one.

Half-Life
Video games are all about finding your own ways to solve a single problem. While some people prefer a stealthy approach to finish an objective, others are more inclined to go all guns blazing and trading lead with enemies. There is no right or wrong tactic—it’s overthinking and overdoing something that can yield bad results.

(See: 10 Important Life Lessons I’ve Learned From My Encounter With Robert Kiyosaki)

8. If you don’t blame others for your own mistakes, you’ll be very good at what you’re doing.

League of Legends
At the end of the day, what matters is by the end of the game itself, you did your best and had fun. You control your own actions, after all.

9. Never take car insurance for granted.

Grand Theft Auto V
You’ve spent a fortune giving your car spiffy upgrades. You wouldn’t let one mishap or rude encounter with a road rager take it all away from you, would you?

10. There is always a right place and time for everything.

Pokemon Go
It’s not enough that you catch a whole battalion of them little monsters; oftentimes it’s what you catch. For one, it’s the rarer Pokemons that boast a higher combat power (CP). Increasing your own monsters’ CP means evolving them from a lower form or hatching an egg by walking at least two kilometers. Training them means choosing your battles wisely–lest be prepared to waste a lot of data, battery, and energy.

11. It never gets easier; you only get better.

Dark Souls
In role-playing games, you start as nothing, devoid of shiny weapons and tough armor. To earn experience points, you need to surpass every challenge thrown at you. Dying means you can come back stronger. –Dino Mari Testa