Simple enough concept, right? Do
something, learn how it's done by both where you excelled and where you didn't.
It's the way people have done it for generations, even before history was ever
recorded. For some, it's the peak of their enjoyment with it and may be the way
they stick with all their lives; for others, it may be the bane of their
existence, based on how often they failed at it before finally getting it the
way they wanted. Both sides can agree, though, that it instills the knowledge
at a level no book, classroom or application could hope to match(I mean really,
would you rather sit there watching someone talk about the way a guitar works
or get up there and see the sounds you can make with that knowledge?)
Before
writing it down was widespread, this is how info was passed on, and the
immediacy and intimacy it creates is why it's lasted as long at it has and why
people look to it when they're in a pinch and only have themselves to pass
either on the knowledge or story they want to tell. True, it benefits many more
when it's recorded for others to observe and add their own input, but to make
that solid, it needs to start at the personal level.
When
you tell a joke, for instance, how you interpret the punchline and delivery
play a huge role in how the listener feels after you're done and they have to
digest what you've said, so if you don't really get it, neither will they; the
more you do get it, the more you can alter or add to the story leading up the
joke and perhaps hit even further out of left field than the the person you
heard it from, in turn drawing out a bigger appeal to their sense of humor. In
other words, when the teller connects to it at a deeper level, then they can
help those they tell it to make the same connection, which is where the Game
stage starts to influence how the info is processed.
The
Game Stage
When you hear the word 'game,' what
pops up in your mind? Maybe you think about that game of Monopoly where you
managed to make everyone broke as a joke through your strategic railroad and
hotel purchases? Perhaps you think of the game of Halo where you got your team
together to plan and execute your improbable comeback on the Hang 'em High map?
Or maybe, just maybe, you think back to that game of flag football where you
worked the Flea Flicker play to perfection and watched as the other side was
juked out of their shoes while your ball carrier ran it in for the game winning
touchdown? However you get your kicks, you know that success at any kind of
game demands that you're able to manage doing different things at once as well
as managing different people at once, and this is referred to as the Game stage
of development. Whether you know it or not, though, it's games like the ones
mentioned that sharpen your ability to do the same when you're in the daily
grind and work alongside the folks around you to get things done and make sure
everything flows fairly smooth until it's quitting time, and you get to head
home and kick up your feet. In learning to use a language, this is a skill sure
to help you see the deeper connections at work when you communicate and ensure
that everyone is on the same page, which is when a relationship truly blossoms
and amazing moments have the proper conditions to take root.
Nowhere
is this a more pivotal aspect of your personal life than in how you regard
their significant other. The better you can manage all the different facets of
what you know about them and what they do everyday, the more in tune you become
with how they think and feel, which gives you ample opportunity to show what
you feel about them and help them get through their trials and tribulations,
such as what the best present would be for their birthday or whether or not
they should take that promotion for more pay and hours, but with much less time
to spend together. In the game of life, this is where you fly high or
face-plant, and an unseen but ever present factor guiding these decisions is
the concept of Generalized Others. (coming soon!)
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