If you're an avid gamer then you already know what a Main Quest is. Most if not all story-driven video games have their characters go on an epic quest that motivates their actions. Mario has to save the Princess from Bowser. Geralt has to find his adopted daughter Ciri. The Dragonborn in Skyrim has to stop the Alduin from destroying the world. Dota 2 tasks you and your team to destroy the enemy's Ancient before they destroy yours.

The Main Quest is the reason our Characters go on their adventure. It defines the set of tasks and challenges the player must go through in order to beat the game and experience the story. Without the Main Quest there is no reason to fight monsters, delve into dungeons, recruit party members and acquire gear or treasure. The video game might as well not exist.

I'd wager that you already have an idea of what your Real Life Main Quest is, it's either that or someone assigned a quest to you, because why else did you get out of bed this morning?

In part one we added basic stats to our Character Sheet. This time we will help you examine, and, if needed, refine your Main Quest.

Why Bother?

Just like in Video Games, your Real Life Main Quest will give you a sense of clarity. It will provide you with a sense of purpose and direction in life. It will drive up your motivation so you're not easily fazed when challenges arrive. When certain pathways become unavailable to you, you will find other ways of getting around it. Most importantly, it will help you deal with failures.

In other words, it will give you the WHY to your life. Whenever you feel lost, there's something you can refer to, like a checkbox that's plastered on your HUD.

Your Main Quest is your reason to live. To keep fighting monsters. To gain experience and level up. When you fail, you can return to the starting zone, lick up your wounds, remember why you're doing this and have at it again. Perhaps you can explore other builds, equipment, skills, or find other party members. Without your Main Quest defined, the reason to do all of this becomes less clear.

Think of Your Own Main Quest in Life

Define this quest in 10-15 words. Write it down.

Don't worry, there is no wrong answer. But you will benefit most from having something clearly defined. Clarity and awareness is what we're looking for here.

This is by no means final, you can change it any time you want. I change and re-define mine all the time.

If you can't define your own Main Quest, then there are a few possibilities:

• You are still exploring and haven't narrowed it down yet

• Someone else has assigned one for you

Let's identify where you're at and then go from there.

I Don't Know Yet

The first one is probably the situation most of us are in. There are so many options in this world that it's hard to pick and choose. Should I be an artist, entrepreneur, politician or skilled laborer? Main Quests, when applied to real life can come from various aspects in life. It could be that you just want to provide for your family. You want to live a life creating art or you want to travel the world and share your experiences to everyone. You may want to be the undisputed #1 at a certain field. What if you want to do all of the above? There are so many possible options right now that it can be hard to choose.

The Modern Metagame is tricky like that. To compare how it was two generations ago, people apprenticed under the nearest Master (most commonly their parents) at any one craft and practiced that until they died. You could be a Soldier, Farmer, Fisherman, Carpenter, Thatcher, Blacksmith, Butcher, Baker, Candlestick-Maker. Nowadays with the internet, we're inundated with too many options. I'd advise you to narrow it down as much as you can. You can't learn everything and be good at them all, so it's best to go deep in one craft. More on this later.

If You Don't Follow a Main Quest, You Will Be Assigned One

This is the trickiest situation to be in. If you're young, then you're likely here. You started with your Parents/Elders choosing the most reliable path for you and so you were handed the Quest to be a good boy/girl, get good grades, then graduate in a high-paying field.

Once you go into the workforce, your boss will give you a Main Quest in line with company goals.

These two are not inherently bad. If you're a student, then you should go through the guided tutorial on how the world works. This will be the stage where you'd acquire your first set of skills. Employment isn't inherently bad first either, as it will provide you with Gold and Experience Points along with Industry skills. The only problem with them is that unless you're 100% aligned with the Quest assigned to you, you'll ultimately feel unsatisfied.

Think about the Quests that were given to you before, how many of them were 100% in line with what YOU wanted to do with your life?

Don't get me wrong, some people are perfectly fine with the quest they're given. The question is, are you one of them?

If you're a student, then Graduation is the end of that Quest unless you drop out. The Education System was intended to equip us with the skills to face the high-level Dungeons and Boss Monsters of the real world. Some are able to do succeed in that that process, were you one them?

If you're a worker, what happens when you've learned everything from that Quest and there are no other paths for leveling up? If your Main Quest is your Job, you may eventually find your Gold Rewards stagnating. You can lose the other precious skills you acquired that isn't aligned to your Job. You may find yourself jostling with the competition or be replaced, or worse, expelled laid-off.

Remember that if your Main Quest was assigned to you by someone else, then they have control over 1/3 of your time and ALL of your livelihood. If you're not in line with said Quest, then you might feel like a slave.

In my opinion, the only reason to hand over control of your life to someone else is so that they can equip you with the means to be independent and venture out on your own. My advice is that if you're not learning AND earning, then it's probably time to leave.

If you're prepared and have a Main Quest for yourself, then you can decide to Graduate independently in search of the next Adventure. If not, tough luck. You'll be left asking "NOW WHAT?"

I Can't Assign a Main Quest To You

You will have to formulate one for yourself, because otherwise you'd be my slave. As much as I would love that, what I want to do instead is provide you with a set of tools and ideas that I've used to define mine.

P.S. This Post Has Gotten Far Too Long

I had to cut this post because I actually had more to say than I thought. For a topic as foundational and important as this I would rather not rush it. Part 2 will be linked here in two days.