Monday, April 21, 2014

Tetris

I've played a lot of tetris. A lot. I started pretty late (at 21), with the Linux Red Hat version, moved on to the Facebook variants (both the single player and the multiplayer versions), did a bit of the hand held monochrome variety and finished off on my Android phone. I am pretty good at it. In those long intense hours, I couldn't help but notice parallels between the game and my life. So here are a few life lessons I've learnt from tetris, most of which apply to most of our lives....

1. It all starts with a single block.But odds are, at the end you will not remember which block you started with. Or any other block in particular.

2. You have no control over what you are given. But you do have control over what you make of what you're given.

3. It's important to plan. But it's more important to know your plans will (at least eventually) fail.

4. Mistakes made early may lead to a long painful life. But they may also lead to unexpected opportunities later.

5. Mistakes made late usually lead to a swift, painless end. But mistakes by definition are accidents, don't engineer them.

6. Everyday is different. Every life is different. But they're so similar. 

7. To each his own. But there are only a finite number of correct ways to do anything.

8. Friends come in all shapes and sizes. But so do enemies.

9. If life allows you to save for a rainy day, save. But if you hang on to your savings indefinitely, you'll take them to an early grave.

10. Calculated risk is essential to growth. But knowing when to pull out is critical to survival.

11. Life will give you a lot of stress. But you don't have to take it.

12. Celebrate every block placed well, celebrate every line cleared. But play for the tetrises.

13. Plan around and learn from, but don't grieve over a block placed wrong.

14. A fresh start always feels good. But each fresh start may be the last.

15. There are no do overs. But there can be breaks.

16. Know your options, and use them shamelessly. But do live by a code.

17. It's only the score that matters in the end. But it helps to know the moves that give you a better bang for your buck.

18.It just doesn't get any easier. But it does keep getting closer to the top.

19. Everyone must wait for the elevator. But you can always take the stairs.

20. The new kids will be quicker and better at the game. But treachery and old age will overcome skill and youth.

21. No matter how good you are, in the end life always wins. But it isn't over till it's over.