The Journey Of A LifeTime

What would you do to survive? Life is an infinite game. There is no total winning in life, only temporary wins. There is only survival. Win, lose, or draw are only temporary. All you have to do is survive and grow. But what is survival in this infinite game of life? Is it not dying? Is it not going bankrupt? Is it not going to jail?

An infinite game will never be won, for it never ends. Some see this as a curse, while the better man will see this as a blessing. The only way to lose is to leave the game. Dying or quitting are the only ways to leave the game. But going bankrupt or to jail will make the game of life infinitely more arduous, both good and bad.

The only goal you should have while playing this unending game is to grow. The whole point of the game is to use life’s painful experiences to grow. Unfortunately, most do not use these experiences for growth; instead, they lament their experiences. They do not realize that all loss is just temporary. They quit growing and continue through life as zombies, waiting until they die. They have quite the infinite game of life. Of course, later in life, they can change their decision, and they will regret the time wasted.

You must see every part of your life as temporary. Your losses and also your wins are all temporary. The only permanent thing you can keep with you throughout your life is yourself. All the skills you have learned, the body you have sculpted. More importantly, all you can carry is your armor, for you must be a warrior who wears his armor and wields his weapon to battle. To battle with everything, with life itself.

What are the armor and weapons you use in infinite battles you will encounter? The armor is your personal philosophy or your personal mission. As you face challenges and painful roadblocks, your armor is damaged. Through these experiences, you see the weaknesses in your armor. After these painful battles, you must see your armor’s weaknesses and reforge it to eliminate these weaknesses. It sounds simple, but the hardest things to do are the simplest ones. To see your weaknesses, you must stare at yourself in the mirror and objectively discover everything you do not like about yourself. Most people fear what they will see, so they never take this action. Then you must reforge this armor. You must melt down the armor that has accompanied you for so long and reforge an armor without weaknesses. Most people do not want to change. They do not want to shatter their philosophy, the personal lens through which they view the world. It is too painful for them. In extreme cases, it can cause cognitive dissonance. You must push through this feeling to change and grow.

The weapons are all the skills you gain throughout your life. You have multiple weapons, each representing a different skill in life. You use these weapons to win, lose, or draw the battles you will face. You must build and sharpen these weapons throughout your life. Eventually, you will discard certain weapons you do not need anymore. You will focus on certain armaments at the expense of others. You will inevitably have to prioritize certain weapons. Some weapons will be more valuable to you than others. The entirety of life is to develop these armor and weapons. The more developed your weapons and armor are, the more battles you will win. If you lose a battle, you can reforge not only your armor but also your weapons.

I have only explained how losses can allow you to reforge your armor and weapons, making you stronger. I have yet to talk about how wins affect your armor or weapons. The wins reinforce your current armor and sharpen your current weapons. The wins can be great but also bad at the same time. The losses let you see your weaknesses, while your wins do not do this. If you always win, you will continuously strengthen your armor and the armor’s weaknesses. These weaknesses will merge with the armor. You will build armor that is indestructible in some places and glaring weaknesses in other parts. Life will pull you down and will eventually target those weaknesses. Remember, this armor is your philosophy and the lens through which you view the world. As you win more with the armor, it will become stronger, making it harder to reforge. The more you win, the more rigid your armor becomes.

Both wins and losses are essential events to reflect on. This reflection lets you recognize your weaknesses and reinforce your armor and weapons. Everyone has their armor and weapons, but most people’s armor and weapons are weak. Life is a series of battles, but you can choose how many battles you go through. The better man tries to go through as many battles as possible because it gives him more chances to refine their combat equipment. The best way to encounter more battles is to take more risks. It is to create a challenging environment for you and has high risks. This will force you to reforge your equipment. Changing your equipment for the better is extremely difficult, so you must force yourself through complex challenges that force you to adapt or risk high consequences like losing all your money or even dying. This will force your brain to work with you instead of against you when reforging your armor.

The ultimate goal of life is to build indestructible armor and weapons of endless sharpness. When you have these, life will be easy. You will face challenges from people with weak armor and weapons, allowing you to trounce them. Money and everything you want will come for you. Of course, even if you only develop your equipment a bit, you will have a massive advantage over others. Let’s look at a prime example of someone I respect. Look at Elon Musk. His business skills are unmatched worldwide, catapulting him to billionaire status. His business skills are a weapon he uses extensively. It is his most used skill. However, he has a weakness in his armor. Its women. He can never keep a woman long-term. His relationships are his weakness. In the future, he may fix this weakness. Look at his accomplishments by focusing on his business skills to pursue his dream of colonizing Mars. While Elon has a weakness in his armor, he can eventually fix it because life is an infinite game. It might always be a weakness because he chooses to focus on his life purpose of colonizing Mars. Who knows?

As you navigate the infinite battlefield, remember every experience, whether a loss or win, is a chance for growth. Cultivate this mindset, and nobody can stop you. Nothing will phase you. The highest level of this mindset is Donald Trump. If Trump loses all his money, it would not phase him because he has gone bankrupt multiple times and bounced back. He has gotten rid of the weakness of money. Trump always believes he can regain his feet and reforge his armor and weapons from his failures. Look at his accomplishments now.

Thanks for reading. I challenge you to cultivate this warrior mindset by taking risks to develop your armor and weapons. Just acknowledge a win, loss, or draw and reflect on your experience. Continue to play the infinite game and grow from life. Otherwise, you will just be another one of the endless undead that wanders the Earth waiting for death. If you are a zombie, there is HOPE. Just start to grow, and you will become human again.

Good luck becoming human again,
Tyler Van Drunen