The Social Game 🤼‍♂️

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This is a short response to StackSmith piece about ambition:

Ambition

I want to say that we all play the game of life. A big part of it is the social game, which looks different for every one of us. There are many ways to play social games; even writing a piece and pushing it to Antenna is a type of a social game. I wouldn't label people making life decisions I don't understand as having something wrong with them; it leads to an "us versus them" mode of thinking.

You say you don't want to play social games. That's fine but it is part of human experience, and based on human history, it is a way to generate and maintain meaning. Human beings crave meaning; that's why we've (and continue to) developed religions. However, as religion's role in our live wanes, we look for new meaning systems. See my book review on how fear of death pushes people to strive for meaning, among other things, by playing social games where money and fame play a role.

Denial of Death

Finally, I agree with you on the call of being nice to one another. It should not oppose any social game and its root is our shared humanness and the fact we are all trying our best.

With that, do what you love and find meaning in any way you like.

Comments, questions, complaints; hit me on my @email.