The unexamined life is not worth living -- Socrates, Mythic Sage, Level: 99

Journaling used to be a weird concept for me. Writing and and sitting by myself felt awkward. I don't even know what I'm supposed to write. I thought the practice was boring and pointless. I can't help but cringe at what's on the page. Why does everyone keep talking this up as great advice?

Some years later, and after having read tons of self-development books, it started to click on my gamer-brain.

The truth was, I've been using a similar tool all my life.

Ask yourself this question:

Whenever You Play an RPG, How Often do You Check Your Character's Stats?

If you're like me, the answer is quite often. In fact, in Ragnarok Online, the MMORPG I spent most of my youth in, I pressed the keybind CTRL+A (The Character Stat Window) so much that it was basically my first fidget toy.

The Character Sheet's importance was paramount. If you wanted to build your Character right, you had to check your stats often. Before you even started building a character, you had to research the best distribution of stats for your preferred Playstyle. If you messed up your build, tough luck. Either start from scratch on a new character or play something sub-optimal. We even had a term for this called "bobobuild" (idiot build).

I poured thousands of hours watching tutorials on YouTube about the best builds, not only in Ragnarok but on almost all games I played--from World of Warcraft to Dota 2 to Warframe and Genshin Impact.

In the game Dungeons & Dragons--the very first RPG and the Granddaddy of all RPG games--The Character sheet was so important that it was the only mandatory playing tool aside from dice.

As gamers, we learned to always keep an eye on our stats. Fail to do so and you'll have a bad time when it's time to face higher-level Monsters and Dungeons.

My Story and Why This Means so Much to Me

Ten years ago my relationship with video games became self-destructive. Why? It was my escape from the awfully rigid and unimaginative Real World. In video games, I could express myself, experience a story, play casually or competitively and fulfill the main quest. In the Real World I had to do what I was told so that I could get paid. I had some creative leeway but not that much. There was politics, deception and bureaucracy involved in almost every step of the way. I had to know my place.

To be fair, it wasn't all bad. I was quite decent at school and later at my job, and I am thankful for all the opportunity it has afforded me. Still, I knew something was missing. Nevertheless, I persisted and kept doing what I was told so I could earn my pay and later return to my RPGs.

Everything was fine...

...until I realized I was replaceable.

What happened? Years passed by and I stopped checking my Character Sheet. Younger Players arrived fresh from the tutorial grounds, but they soon caught up to my Stats. My peers moved on to higher-level challenges while I floundered with my video game addiction, making tons of high-level characters in game while neglecting the most important Character of all--MYSELF!

Why wasn't I growing? In hindsight, I became jaded, fat and complacent. Eight hours of grinding on a stressful and unrewarding job can do that to you. I was well aware that I had potential in other fields but I can't fulfill them because I had to spend time doing the things I was told in order to get paid. I started becoming resentful, which fed into my work-stress, which then elevated my addiction.

The Cog

I was told to fit in a square when I knew I was a Dodecahedron. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful for everything I learned and earned through my job, but ultimately I was a cog.

Herein lies the problem: The engine doesn't want a cog to grow, and if the cog stops working or is too rusted, it can be replaced by a new one.

Work became harder to stomach after this realization, so much so that getting a work email gave me a nervous reaction.

And so I Fell

I wanted to recover from that stress through gaming, but the games I played also changed. They started leeching precious time and money. Game Developers have started using Vampiric tricks to keep me hooked so they can suck more out of me, and get sucked I did.

Instead of recovering the HP I lost from work-related stress, I was now losing both that and GOLD. I was essentially lost and trapped in a Junji Ito spiral until I burned out and decided to quit for my sanity.

My mistake? In hindsight, I wasn't pressing CTRL+A in real life. My Stats stayed the same. The world was changing around me, while my eyes were glued to a video game.

I knew I had to make a foundational change to my character, so I went on a long quest to find out how I can build myself from the ground up.

I had to admit I was bobobuild.

"That's not fair! I thought If I did what was I told then I could afford a house, a car, and enough money to put my 4 kids to private school. Also, why are you calling me at midnight? I thought I only had to work 8 hours a day."

I would love to put the blame on The SYSTEM or The Boomers who put us in this difficult position, but that would be too easy. To be fair, it did work for the people who came before us. They got rich working in factories and so they built the schools to make obedient factory workers. At that time, it was perfectly good advice.

Then the internet came, and Globalization occurred. Factory worker jobs were outsourced, then automated. Business owners wanted the Cheapest Cog so they'll want to keep your wages low or find the next replacement.

Also, if you think the changes we're experiencing in this generation were already too much, then you're in for a surprise. The AI revolution is coming, and it will disrupt the Real World at an unprecedented scale. If you're a knowledge worker and your job could be automated, then you're the next one out.

Scary, I know, but these are the cards we're dealt. Telling technology to stop advancing is like telling Typhoon Odette to not pass by Cebu (my hometown). We tried, it didn't work.

So Instead of moping and sitting on our asses and blaming everyone, what I'd advise instead is to take Responsibility for your current Character's stats. That way, you gain control and waste no time pointing fingers and being bitter. Once you take Responsibility for what's currently happening to you, then you get to take back the steering wheel.

Dust yourself off. It's time to take control of your life.

It's driven me before, and it seems to have a vague haunting mass appeal, But lately I'm beginning to find that I should be the one behind the wheel --Brandon Boyd, Esteemed Bard

My Proposed Solution

Thankfully for me, during those years of stagnant drought I was plunged in the world of Self Improvement, Fantasy Fiction, video games, and lots and lots of movies, anime and manga. I have refined everything that I learned and combined them into a method of Journaling so that other Real Life Players can have a better Toolset in navigating the Modern World.

The Tools Should Be

• Simple - 2 mins to learn

• Intuitive for Gamers

• Can be Tailor Made to Fit any Build

• Adaptable to the Changing Metagame

Who this Method is for:

• Gamers, especially RPG players who feel lost in the system and need help

• Anyone who's still reading and can relate to what I wrote above

Who this isn't for:

• If you can't relate to my problems above and you already have the tools to processes and navigate through the world, then you're good!

• Max Level Characters

So Here's the Main Idea:

A Journal is a Tool to Examine your Life. It Works Exactly Like a Character Sheet, and Therefore you Should Check it Regularly.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself -- Ice Cube, Legendary Bard, Subclass: Rapper

Here's How To Write Your Character Sheet

First, get a piece of pen and paper.

Write the areas of your life where you'd like to Improve and Grow. Follow the framework below or make your own.

Basic Stats:

• Health

• Relationships / Community

• Career / Craft

• Wisdom / Faith

Ask yourself: Are you GROWING in each area, Are you MAINTAINING, STAGNATING, or GETTING WORSE?

We are not using numbers here to avoid comparison. All we'd like for now is to discover in which areas we'd like to improve and maintain, and which areas are neglected. Comparing yourself to your previous self is more healthy and productive.

You can customize this as MUCH AS YOU'D LIKE. Add or remove stats as you see fit. Add Drawings. Design it like your favorite video game. Make it pretty, make it yours.

Everyone's situation is different, that's why teaching Self-Improvement can be tricky. Treat this advice as a Toolbox of Ingredients. It's up to you to make your own SOUP. If you need more ideas. I'd be happy to help.

Above is 2 days worth of my personal sheet. Sorry for the bad lighting.

Check the list every morning. How often do you check your stats in a game? Once per day is enough for now.

Yes this is only the first step. We'll discuss the other tools (Main Quest, Daily Quest, Map, Inventory, Spell Book, Monster Manual etc.) later. Don't worry. It's the tutorial stage. Like every good video game, I will expand on these concepts slowly.

Beyond the Assignment:

Think of your life's Main Quest. Describe it in one sentence, 10-15 words.

What are the Daily Tasks that you can do to reach that Main Quest?

What Skills will help you attain that Main Quest?

Advice when doing this exercise:

• Be Kind to Yourself

• Don't Compare Yourself To Others

• Don't Feel Sorry For Yourself

• Realize that you have limited HP, TIME, and STAMINA in your life, so you can only improve on one or two things at a time outside of work. Sometimes none. That's fine. The only thing we need right now is Proper Awareness. Game-sense. Observation Haki.

• Self-improvement is a LIFELONG PROCESS. It's a Marathon, not a race.

BTW, this method is still in ALPHA VERSION 0.0 - I'm building this in public so Everything is subject to change. Everything. I haven't even decided on a name yet. I will explain the next steps in a series of posts after this.

In Summary:

I was lost because I wasn't checking myself (Character Sheet). I wasn't checking the Job Market, Environment and Emerging Disruptive Technologies (Map). I wasn't checking and updating relevant skills and strategies (Skill Book / Inventory). My goal and purpose in life wasn't clear (Main Quest), and therefore I wasn't working my way to get there (Daily Quests).

Unexpected things will come in Real Life that we may not be prepared for (Monster Raids, AI Invasions, Tougher Dungeons, Calamities). Using the tools above will help guide our way.

This method might not be for everyone, I imagine it would work best for video game addicts enthusiasts who want to find their direction in life.

You've used these tools in game before, time to apply them to real life.

Here are the Topics and Tools I'd Like to Discuss More (TBD):

• Finding your Life's Main Quest

• Doing Daily Quests - what can you do today to help get you closer to your Main Quest

• Checking your Skill Book, Equipment and Inventory to find tools that suit your Main Quest

• Making a Map to guide you in your Main Quest

• Dungeons (Challenges that reward Loot and Experience Points)

• Monsters you'll encounter on the way and how to defeat them

• Partying up with other Real Life Players (Build a community)

• Some Adventurers might be HARDSTUCK. Are you one of them?

• The Different Character Builds - What builds are possible and Which one are you?

• Lessons we can learn from High Level Players.

• (Wow this is shaping up like an ebook already)

Why am I doing this?

I'm basically doing this for the 20+ year old version of myself. I know I'm not the only one in the same situation so I'm extending a ladder and an invitation to Party Up so we can enhance these tools even further and have a wider impact.

I need your help

This project is a work in progress. If you read this and you can relate, please comment or send me a message on my socials. I'm still testing the ideas in this post and I'd like to know if you think this is useful or this idea is a dud. If enough people respond we'll make a discord room(?) and decide from there.

Thanks and Good Luck on your Quests!