I’m playing a computer game following the main campaign and I keep dying. Over and over again at the same point. It seems impossible to make any progress past this particular point in the game. Not with my character’s current level of experience, armour, and weaponry.
The only way that I can make any kind of progress is by taking a break from the main mission and spending some time in the game world undertaking side missions. This way I can build up my character’s stamina, strength, XP, buy new armour and weaponry and practice combat with easier opponents. Then I can get back on the main path and start to make real progress.
This got me thinking about how relevant this strategy is to life in general. Everyone is trying to get ahead as fast as possible without investing any time in bettering themselves. Improving your skills and experience can only help you be a better version of yourself in anything you tackle in life.
We often forget that half the fun of the journey is who and what we encounter along the way that contributes to small changes in ourselves making us who we are today.
So don’t rush to the finish line. In life sometimes it’s the side missions that count.