Atrophy, or not.

An excellent coincidence that I finished reading James P Carse’ “Finite and Infinite Games” the same day I wrote this post. The book helped me frame thoughts to my satisfaction. 

There was an age when accumulating possessions – from apparel brands to places visited to career designations to property ownership and anything that signals prosperity – was the game I played. Or games, because a milestone was a victory in that finite game, and I quickly moved on to another. Trophies that the world dictated. 

There is an age when an imprint of my own – a life of tastes and possessions dictated more by an understanding of what one fancies and less so by peers and the immediate environment – seems more important. Star Farce is an example. Arguably, a game more refined than the first, but still influenced to some degree by “what do they think of me”. Trophies that the ego dictates.

A parallel to these two ages would be a Margaret Thatcher quote Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy. 🙂

I think there will be an age when I am beyond these two. I will be the audience of my own game – the game of self image actualisation. I can already see myself playing it out because ages don’t have clean breaks. One is very related to the previous one. It starts while the other is still on and then becomes the key driver seamlessly. After all, when you think of it, the only key differentiation between “what others think of me” and “self image actualisation” is the audience. Trophies of self image.

But what I hope and strive towards is to live the age beyond that. To play the infinite game. To be in the moment and ‘in touch’ would be fantastic! No trophies!