This article was originally posted on my newsletter!
Pretty much everyone has heard the quote "Life is a game." However, something is missing in that sentence that slightly adjusts its meaning, the idea of an "Infinite game."
Finite games are very straightforward to understand. A Football match is a finite game as there is a clear objective on how to win and a defined time limit. The goal is to reach the end.
Infinite games are more complex. There are many unknown players, the rules constantly change, and there is no end. The target is purely to continue to play endlessly.
I see most of my projects as infinite games:
- YouTube: I try to put out one video a week and improve each time. I don't focus too much on the views, subscribers, or numbers as there is no final target I want to reach.
- Blog: This is my online learning journal and there are infinite things to learn, particularly in data science. Therefore, I will never stop learning and writing about it.
- Newsletter: This weekly newsletter is my place to share some of my thoughts which hopefully can resonate with someone out there. My commitment is to write it every week indefinitely.
Of course, those above things are very specific to me, but even a job is an infinite game. If you get a promotion, you 'level' up, but there is no maximum level. The whole point is purely to play and enjoy learning and getting better.
By shifting your mindset to think in terms of being in an infinite game, your perspective changes a lot. You start thinking in terms of process and not short-term goals. The process is something you can control, and the end goal you rarely can. This all links to "journey before destination."
This especially rings true for us Data Scientists and tech professionals out there. You can never 'complete' programming (although would be amazing if you could) as there are too many areas to explore. This should be exciting as you can always pick up something new if you feel like you're stagnant in your career.
An infinite game is something you can never win or lose and that's what's beautiful about it. The key message is to enjoy every step as much as you can and continue growing.
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