I should play more infinite games

I’ve been feeling a creative itch lately that’s begging me to scratch it.

I wrote in my journal this week:

I am not great.

I have listened to the music of great composers. I have read the words of great authors. I have contemplated the images of great painters, sculptors, and photographers. I have entered the edifices of great architects. I have studied the conquests of great emperors. 

I am most certainly not great.

I yearn to create something. But what hasn’t already been created? What am I great at? I’m great at being mediocre.

Ok, a little depressing, but the sentiment is painfully sincere. 

I want to create, but I haven’t done much about it lately. I know it’s bad when I spend a lot of time thinking about making something and very little time actually making something. 

Then, almost as if by magic, I came across a blog by Herbert Lui, an internet person I’ve never heard of before. I literally can’t remember how I stumbled upon him, even though it was earlier today. Was I googling something? Was I reading an article that linked to his blog? I don’t know. I can’t remember because of how instantly I got lost in his site. 

Herbert writes about blogging as an infinite game. A game you win only by continuing to write on your blog. 

If that’s how you do win, here are some ways you don’t win:

• Traffic
• Going viral
• Making money
• Self-promotion

Success in blogging depends on the game you’re playing. And I want to play the game of, well…just blogging.

This reminds me of how I’ve adjusted my mindset with regard to exercise and nutrition. 

For years, I set physical goals for myself related to weight loss, endurance, or strength. But about two years ago, I gave up. I didn’t want to look a certain way, weigh a certain weight, or lift a certain amount anymore. 

I wanted to be the kind of person who exercises. And I wanted to be the kind of person who eats well.

I hired a coach, and when she asked me what my goals were, that’s exactly what I told her. “I want to be the kind of person who exercises.” 

And you know what? It worked. 

As of today, I’ve been exercising regularly for 752 days. That’s 263 workouts and 195 hours of training. 

“Wait a minute,” you might be wondering, “that isn’t very much working out.”

Well, you’re right. It’s about one 30-ish minute workout every third day, on average. I won’t be winning any body building competitions anytime soon and I’m still about 20 lbs overweight.

But.

I’ve lost 25 lbs, and I feel amazing. All without a goal. Just based on changing the way I think about myself as a person. I’m the kind of person who exercises and eats well.

If I can apply this infinite game principle to something I used to despise doing (exercise and not eating McDonald’s on the regular), surely I can apply it to something I rather enjoy…writing online.

So, what’s stopped me? You can see this blog goes back a long way. I’ve dabbled in blogging for many years. 

The number one enemy of my blogging habit has been getting tripped up by the question, “What’s the point of this?”

I got sucked in years ago to the idea that you should monetize your blogging hobby. Then I got dragged into the insanity of the heyday of social media with the idea that it was all about followers. Then it was about email lists. 

I lost the game the moment it stopped being about just blogging. Blogging for the heck of it. 

Clearly, blogging this way isn’t about producing something great or even good every time I hit publish. It’s about hitting publish. It’s about being the kind of person who blogs. 

Ideas for future posts

• What are my rules for the infinite game of blogging?
• What is an infinite game? Am I using the term properly? 
• What other areas of my life should I think of as infinite games?
  • Fitness
  • Nutrition
  • Writing
  • Photography
  • Socializing 
• Are there any areas of my life that would benefit from traditional goals right now? Identify/infinite games vs. SMART goals. 
• Should I use analytics on my blog, or will that ruin everything for me?