Top 10 Things I’ve Learned from Bejeweled

Recently, I learned yet another lesson from a game called Bejeweled 2. I blogged about this game some time ago, but find I’m compelled to write about it again. For me, this game is a form of meditation as it requires great focus. I play it in my spare time, like when I’m waiting at the dentist’s office or at the airport. Some days that may be 15-20 minutes and sometimes life gets too busy and I won’t play for days.

However, I always come away from the experience with a lesson. So, I decided to share my Top 10 Things I’ve Learned from Bejeweled….

Your expectations for any given situation will greatly influence the end result. Things are possible if you believe they are. A few months ago I compared high scores with a friend who also plays Bejeweled2, Classic Version. My high score for the game was about 1.7 million and my friend had just broken 50,000. Curious about high scores, we went to Wikipedia and found that Mike Leyde earned a score of 2,147,483,647, after 2,200 hours of game time over a period of 3 years!

In the movie, The Secret, they talk about how the Native Americans couldn’t see Columbus’ ships, because they had no comprehension that such things were possible. Whether or not this is accurate doesn’t really matter. What I find fascinating, is that until I heard that Mike achieved a score over 2 BILLION, I thought 1.7 million was amazing. Once I knew that it was possible to keep going, I’ve been playing the same game ever since the holidays!

My current score is over 11 million, when prior to Christmas, 1.7 million was my all-time high after two years of playing Bejeweled. And, it worked for my friend too, as he has far surpassed his high score of 50,000 and is nearing 500,000. All because we now know it’s possible. Nothing else has changed except our perception.

Focus works. When I focus on what I’m doing, I can’t fail. That observation alone is worth the time spent playing this game. Think about it— when I focus on what I’m doing, I CAN’T fail! That’s huge!

When I plan one move and anticipate the next before I take any steps, I’m invincible. I only get into trouble when I’m in a hurry, when I’m tired, when I get distracted or when I don’t focus on what I’m doing.

Be humble. Nothing destroys a good run faster than cockiness and believing that we’re invincible.

Set goals. Always have a goal rather than just taking what shows up in front of you. Randomness isn’t productive as a strategy.

Look for the opportunity. Rather than looking only at what’s in front of you, look deeper to identify the opportunity. When you find that, you’ll see how everything lines up to make your goals happen.

Welcome the surprises. Sometimes you’ll spend time planning only to have a surprise show up that is so much better than what you could have planned! Keep planning, but also learn to welcome surprises, understanding that sometimes they can be the greatest gifts.

Obstacles will appear. Pay attention to the obstacles but don’t focus on them. Use obstacles to your advantage. Plan that things are going to blow up and use them to clear space to create new opportunities in your life.
Focus on what you do have rather than what you don’t. Time spent regretting past moves is a waste of time. Instead, look where you’re going, not where you’ve been.

Take the vision with you. If I play for more than 15 minutes and then stop, I still see the game in front of me when I’m looking at something else! Imagine the power of doing that with the things on our vision board? Imagine the power of holding things we choose to manifest in our mind’s eye?

It’s more fun to play if you’re not worried or fearful. When I have extra bonus opportunities in the game, I’m not afraid to take risks or be brave. I find I’m much more cautious and the game isn’t as fun when I operate from a place of fear.

Have faith. We can’t always predict what’s going to fall into place in front of us, but if we plan for it and have faith, it usually shows up.

All of this wisdom from a silly little game! So tell me, do you play Bejeweled 2? What have you learned and does it inspire you? How do you spend your random minutes of spare time and what have you learned from doing so? We welcome you to share it with us!