Life As an RPG (Role Play Game) And a Side Note
Updated: Mar 7
For me, life is like an endless role-playing game (RPG), where you are free to explore and gain experience points (XP) from whatever you interact with, even if that interaction is with yourself.
Like an RPG, the characters are in a constant state of progression, regardless of what they are doing in their lives. The more you practice a certain art or skill, the more XP you can gain from it, and the more XP you gain, the more you can develop your skill tree in a certain aspect. Everything can be measured, and the more you keep yourself busy, the higher your personal statistics become. Even doing nothing can serve as an XP container.
In an RPG, the goal is to become the strongest and most powerful character possible. Similarly, the goal of life is to become the best version of yourself possible. This can be achieved by constantly learning and growing, and by never giving up on your dreams.
Just like in an RPG, you can "farm" and "loot" by doing the same things, which in return may unlock more paths for you to go for. The RPG is an evolution of progression, and so is your life.
Just like in an RPG, there may be no definitive goals to reach.
Some people view their meaning in life by leveling up, some people have clear definitions of what kind of lemonade they aspire to make with their lemons, and some live their lives ignorantly without having a vision of their own, and do not introspect nor contemplate about who they are in this massive RPG. In this life, there are no handbooks of how you ought to live your life, and even if there are, they are a deception which hides one's handling with this RPG's emptiness.
Beyond the necessities of life which maintain it, the rest is up to you to decide, to go on a journey in search of achievement and vision. Remember that this RPG may be infinite, but it is limited for you. You can either choose to live your life with no contemplation, or you can get out of the simpleton's mindset and be the hero of your own adventure. Every moment, regardless of the situation, contains various potentials, and the question is what are you going to do with them?
The less potential you may bring into actualization, the less XP and personal statistics you may have. I say - use the emptiness of this RPG not as an obstacle but as a space for creation and search for your own personal meaning to become greater than you are currently. There are no endings to this life but your own death, while the game goes on with optimality for those who dare to live the way they want to, and not by other's enforced will.
So stop living your life blindly and go and level up your abilities, because the more XP you gain, the more you can be valuable for both you and others in the name of productivity and victory over the universe's infinite void and the trap of nihilism and worthlessness it may set for you in your journey.
Finally, a side note: this is merely an analogy and I never took this belief literally; I do not think we are in an RPG, and even if I did think so, it is still my right to believe and express such belief in public, regardless of its reception. People on Quora told me to see a psychologist, or that my stability is questioned, when all I wanted to do was to expand the minds of others by offering another perspective. After all, it is something, you know, philosophers usually do regardless of their mental state.
If people today are so eager to mock and even attempt to silence others, simply because their perspective-changing proposals are too esoteric and controversial, this could be a sign of the potential decline of freedom of expression in a world whose nations are mostly democratic. None of us should be afraid to express our own legitimate perspectives and opinions, because otherwise the world will largely be ruled by an oppressive majority.
This is a danger to democracy no less than a minority ruling tyranny. The exception should be life-endangering statements, such as those of bullies, cyberbullies, potential criminals, and terrorists.
If you agree with this side note, or generally with this article, please consider sharing it in the name of legitimate, no-harm-intending, free speech.
Innovation in thought should be as valuable as innovation in technology, even if the results of the former are less clear than those of the latter.
