Life is like Tetris
For this week “Self-Development teachings” I was listening a podcast hosted by Noah Rasheta. He talks about Buddhism’s teachings as a secular knowledge, not as a religion. I really like his point of view and how we can easily apply those principles in any situation of our lives, no matter our beliefs.
This week podcast he talks about how to live a more mindful way of living. He makes an analogy between a chess and a Tetris game. He says that we need to live life like Tetris game, and not like a chess game.
“Life is like a Tetris game and we need to quit playing it like it’s a chess game”.
Tetris is a simple game that you need to fit shapes side by side until complete rows. The whole purpose of Tetris game is to learn to take what presents itself and arrange it or twist it in a way that works best. Some pieces are the perfect fit to complete that row, some are not.
We can easily start comparing it to our lives, which we often receive situations that we need to face and know how face it. Some situations are convenient, others not so convenient.
A skillful Tetris player knows not to worry about what pieces comes next, he just PLAYS the game because he’s taught himself the ability to skillfully play with any piece Tetris hands him. It gives all the confidence he needs to continue the game. You don’t need to be worried about 5 pieces from now. You will receive one at a time.
Tetris applicable lessons:
1. When an unpleasant feeling or an annoying sound or an annoying situation in life springs up, much like the Tetris game, we need to stop trying to fight the way things are and just accept it.
2. We can be okay with discomfort, and unexpected situations (shapes) in life, it helps us be more creative and grow more.
3. We can learn to practice letting go of control. This doesn’t mean that we have zero control over life, but in reality, you don’t. You can play Tetris thinking, “Well, 10 shapes from now, what am I going to be doing with whatever that shape is?” You don’t know what shape it will be, your only control is the shape you have right in front of you. We can only deal with things from moment to moment.
View life as a game of Tetris and we’re playing the game, making the best use of whatever shows up when it shows up, accepting it for what it is the moment that it’s there and working with it rather than resisting it or wishing it was something other than it is.
You learn how to appreciate life the way it is. You let go of expectations and insecurities. You are more focused and more determinate to make that one piece fit in your life game.
We’re going to be much more at peace when we learn to do this.