How to Be OP at Life

You’re a natural-born gamer.

You crush RPGs without much hassle ― hell, you might even crank up the difficulty setting from time to time.

Maybe you understandably prefer spending time inside virtual worlds rather than engaging with the “real” world. But have you considered that life is basically just one huge MMO on hardcore mode?

Yep ― Our world more or less follows the same principles as an RPG, but with infinite possibilities and no respawns. Naturally, it’s way harder than any game on the market.

But reframing our mindsets around this idea reveals an encouraging reality: If you can excel at video games, you can excel at the rest of your life and become what gamers called overpowered, or "OP."

Forge your own legend. It may not feel like it, but moving forward in life is just like progressing through a game. You gain experience as you go, while you don’t know exactly where the story is going to take you ― and that’s okay. That just means that as the main character of your own story, you get to create a unique, incredible plotline. And chances are, you’re much more powerful than you imagine.

Grinding for EXP. It’s a known cliché that the best things in life, including nurturing strong relationships, creating brilliant art, and working fulfilling jobs, are built on work. You understand this, of course, from killing countless monsters and completing dozens of side quests to level up your character.

But it doesn’t always have to feel like a grind. In fact, working on the right things that align with your values is far superior to working hard for the sake of hustling. And if you can find something that feels like work to other people, but feels like play to you? That’s your superpower.

Success is a series of small wins. When we look around, it seems that successful people were born with a self-assured understanding of their life’s calling. But that’s just not how it works. 

Skill tree mindset. In reality, most elite performers will tell you they had no idea that they’d end up in their exact position today. They put one foot in front of the other, which led to one opportunity, which led to the next, and before they knew it, they’d built a great life for themselves. In other words, they invested in their skill tree, which twisted and turned and benefited them in unexpected ways.

Simply put, they invested in the process, not just the outcome. 

Trust the process. In video games, we inherently have faith that the game won’t give us anything we can’t handle. The real world doesn’t seem to make that guarantee. But, the gamer mentality of trusting yourself to weather storms and emerge stronger will take you far. 

Invest in your core stats. Your body is the vessel that will carry you through this game. And until mad scientists develop Futurama-style talking heads, you’ll only ever have one. Keeping your body in good shape is not just important for physical activity ― it’s absolutely essential for mental health, as well. And, research has proven that the reverse is also true. 

Growth requires reasonable amounts of stress, and managing stress requires a sound body and mind. For an extra boost, look into using some potions to aid you on your adventure.

Keep shooting. So many of us are so afraid of failure that we fail to try, or we avoid situations where we can’t control the outcome. It’s true that we have limited control over this particular game. But what many don’t understand is that our Luck stat is malleable ― that by focusing on perspective and skills rather than winning or losing, we can, in fact, create our own luck.

It may not seem like it from the outside, but all success stories are riddled with failure. Even the greatest gamers and athletes take losses all the time, but they all share one thing in common ― they get back up and keep going. 

(source: Visualize Value)

Don’t neglect these parts of the skill tree.

Self-compassion. None of us can control our spawn point, base stats, or starting gold. We all have completely different experiences, so let’s not judge each other or ourselves too much for where we’re currently at. You don’t flame a Charmander for not being a Charizard, right? You have immense potential ― don’t waste it by beating yourself up too much.

Building bonds. We can’t do it alone. Even the most powerful characters need help from their allies. Forming strong bonds requires vulnerably putting yourself out there, which can be scary and won’t always go well. But, it takes a village to build something great, and relationships are absolutely crucial to happiness.

Purpose. Figure out why you’re playing. Some people want to dominate competitively and climb ladders, while others like to stack gold and collect rare items. Some simply play for pure enjoyment and the love of discovering new things with their loved ones. Reflect on what uniquely gives you energy and deep fulfillment, not on how critics tell you to play. But don’t forget to play ― Life’s too short to take everything too seriously.

Endgame

Claiming your best life starts with your mind and body. Invest in your health, and trust the process of taking one step ahead day by day. It may not feel like a linear progression, but one day you’ll look back and find yourself way better off than when you started. 

We’re all going to hit the Game Over screen one day. As you think about reflecting back from that point, how can you minimize regret here and now? 

It’s a vibrant world with infinite possibilities, and the greatest adventure of your life is out there waiting for you. Go live it.

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