Keep Going
“The best laid plans of mice and men”….is the beginning of the saying which is all of it that I know. I started this on Monday, and I’m already behind. It’s that cycle, of starting and not finishing, that I’ve been so good at most of my life.
I do it in Minecraft, too. You die. Something kills you, or you fall from a high place. You go AFK for too long, out in the open, and get killed by whatever hostile mob happens to pass your way. You try to swim in lava. The last two are the worst. Generally you’re not expecting either situation, so you’re not quite prepared. And you lose all the things in your inventory. Which is a pain if you have spent a ton of time gathering materials or fighting monsters to get precious items like elytra wings, diamond armor, and diamond, enchanted weapons. They call it “rage quitting”. You’re so mad, you couldn’t possibly go back to the game and keep going.
And in some instances, quitting is warranted. When my eight year old was raging over the computer, it was better for him to quit than to keep playing mad.
But I’ve found value in keeping going.
The thing I’ve learned with Minecraft is that I can go back to my safe house and rebuild. Even if I need to start again with a set of stone tools, I do. I already have a bed, and usually food stocked. I can start from somewhere, not from nothing. And even when it feels like I have nothing, my inventory fills up quickly. I have more knowledge than the last time I rage quit. I know better where to find more diamonds and iron. I know how to avoid lava, most times. And I’m building better habits, such as being mindful of what kind of adventure I’m about to go on, and getting ready for that. I put on my armor when going digging, and put my wings away.
Once again, I start over. And every time I start over in Minecraft, I realize that I have the same opportunity in real life. I really do. I can start again with the 31 days of writing in October. And keep going.
I do it in Minecraft, too. You die. Something kills you, or you fall from a high place. You go AFK for too long, out in the open, and get killed by whatever hostile mob happens to pass your way. You try to swim in lava. The last two are the worst. Generally you’re not expecting either situation, so you’re not quite prepared. And you lose all the things in your inventory. Which is a pain if you have spent a ton of time gathering materials or fighting monsters to get precious items like elytra wings, diamond armor, and diamond, enchanted weapons. They call it “rage quitting”. You’re so mad, you couldn’t possibly go back to the game and keep going.
And in some instances, quitting is warranted. When my eight year old was raging over the computer, it was better for him to quit than to keep playing mad.
But I’ve found value in keeping going.
The thing I’ve learned with Minecraft is that I can go back to my safe house and rebuild. Even if I need to start again with a set of stone tools, I do. I already have a bed, and usually food stocked. I can start from somewhere, not from nothing. And even when it feels like I have nothing, my inventory fills up quickly. I have more knowledge than the last time I rage quit. I know better where to find more diamonds and iron. I know how to avoid lava, most times. And I’m building better habits, such as being mindful of what kind of adventure I’m about to go on, and getting ready for that. I put on my armor when going digging, and put my wings away.
Once again, I start over. And every time I start over in Minecraft, I realize that I have the same opportunity in real life. I really do. I can start again with the 31 days of writing in October. And keep going.
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