The Game of Awe

The Game of Awe

by

Kelly Anderson

The June 8, 2018 Daily Question from Gratefulness.org asked “How would my life change if I measured it by moments rather than the clock?” Such a beautiful question! Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with an answer. I couldn’t imagine how to begin doing such a thing. How, in my scheduled and productivity-focused life, would I make a shift to a moment-based measurement? What would that look like?

Thinking about the question gave me just the nudge I needed. I’d been exploring the idea of “Living Gamefully” and the “Science of Awe”, and this question led me to a fun little project. I was inspired to connect the two concepts and develop the ‘Game of Awe’ as a way to challenge myself to measure my life by moments - moments of awe.

Living Gamefully

The idea of “Living Gamefully” comes from the work of Jane McGonigal, and it is awesome. Jane is a gamer. She plays games, she studies games, and she wrote the book on how to live a gameful life - “SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully”. Humans have been enjoying games for thousands of years, and recently we’ve been harnessing the power of games and applying it to many different aspects of life. Evidence of the benefits of a gameful approach to tackling life’s challenges is pretty compelling, and I’m convinced it’s worth the effort required to give it a try.

McGonigal drew from her work in game design and identified key elements which may be utilized to gamefully take on any challenge or personal struggle. These elements are the foundation of the Game of Awe :

• Challenge yourself: Adopt a challenge mindset;
  
• Power Up: Seek out small actions which make you stronger and happier;
  
• Battle your bad guys: Be flexible and open to negative experiences, battle the tough opponents, be driven by courage, curiosity and the desire to improve;
  
• Complete quests: Take committed action and small steps toward the big goal - every single day;
  
• Recruit allies: Find and cultivate supportive connections;
  
• Adopt a Secret Identity: Focus on your strengths, the meaning of the struggle, and your heroic story;
  
• Go for the Epic Win: Find the benefits and good outcomes;
  
• Keep score: Measure and track your progress.
  

The Science of Awe

Like games, feelings of awe are nothing new. Throughout history artists have tried to express the essence of awe and philosophers have tried to explain it. However, the scientific study of awe is a recent development.

Dacher Keltner of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley is one of the leaders in the research. He and others working in this field have studied many perspectives of awe. They’ve explored awe from jaw-dropping, goosebump producing experiences to more subtle little spine-tingling bursts. They’ve looked at how we benefit from awe and found that feelings of awe may lead to a variety of positive things, such as humility, pro-social behaviors, human connections, and conditions of improved health.

Work in this field has also identified conditions which are best known to elicit feelings of awe. The main triggers are known to be interactions with, or observations of, others doing acts of extraordinary strength, courage, generosity, compassion, artistry, or other virtuous qualities. Other situations which are known to lead to feelings of awe are nature, the supernatural, the arts, knowledge, the spiritual, and our own selves. And, it’s important to note, awe isn’t always awesome, sometimes it’s awful.

With a beginner’s knowledge of game design and awe, I created the game which I hope will help me begin to measure my life in moments.

The Game of Awe

The Game of Awe follows the ‘Living Gamefully’ framework and integrates the ‘Science of Awe’. Its rule book looks something like this:

The Challenge: The goal of this game is to measure life by moments rather than the clock and recognize the changes this brings.

Power Ups: Take short breaks throughout the day to power up by doing little things which make you feel stronger and happier. You’ll want to create your own list of Power Ups. The following are examples to get you started:

• Drink of cup of herbal tea;
  
• Go outside for a minute of power breaths;
  
• Stand and Stretch;
  
• Sing a song out loud, or maybe just hum;
  
• Call or text a friend,
  
• Recite your favorite inspirational quote.
  

Battle your bad guys: Take on the tough opponents and obstacles. Likely bad guys in this challenge will be mandated schedules, due dates and deadlines which will turn the focus to the clock. It will be important to accept these things as a part of life and have the courage and curiosity to notice, appreciate, and make room for the special moments life offers.

Complete quests: To conquer this challenge and win the game, you’ll take daily committed action and small steps toward the big goal. The basic framework of this game’s quests include:

• Each day, intentionally participate in an awe seeking experience selected to maximize your opportunities to be awestruck. You will choose your own activities, but possible examples drawn from the Science of Awe are: spend time with nature, climb a hill, watch a sunset, spend time with the arts and sciences, read a poem, listen to music, go to a museum, spend time with inspiring people, watch a sports competition, watch a live performance, have a meaningful conversation. While you’re participating in these experience, make note of your physical and emotional response and record your feelings.
  
• Create your personal Awe Story. Reflect on memorable times you’ve felt awe and document those experiences. This is your story, so it may be in a written story, a story in pictures, a poem – whatever would be meaningful to you.
• After spending time seeking moments of awe and creating your personal Awe Story, respond to the original question, “How would my life change if I measured it by moments rather than the clock?”

Recruit allies: Things are more fun and success is more likely when you have a co-conspirator - someone to encourage you. A full support team is even better. For this game, try to line up a couple of allies who want to cheer you on, or maybe even play along with you.

Adopt a Secret Identity: Create an inner superhero who is symbolic of your strengths and will lead you. For example, Superhero “Amy the Awe Seeker” might capture and symbolize an adventurous spirit. “Clark the Clock Slayer” might represent the strength and persistence needed to break free of the grasp of a rigid schedule. Identify your own Superhero powers and create your Secret Identity.

Go for the Epic Win: Find for yourself the benefits of focusing on moments and experiencing awe, and seek the positive outcomes which emerge.

Keep score: An important element of a game is measuring and tracking your progress. This gives you feedback and keeps you moving forward. For this version of the Game of Awe , the score card, (or as I like to call it, The Awe Sheet) will include three levels to be completed in approximately three weeks.

Level 1: Earn 100 points by completing the following activities:

• Adopt your Secret Identity- 15 pts
  
• Identify your Bad Guys- 10 pts
  
• Find your Allies-10 pts
  
• Complete Power Ups from your personal list- 30 @ 1pt each = 30 pts
  
• Participate in Awe Seeking Quests and document the details of the experience and your feelings- 7@5 pts = 35 pts
  

Level 2: After completing level one, earn 100 points by completing the following activities:

• Complete Power Ups from your personal list- 30 @ 1pt each = 30 pts
  
• Participate in Awe Seeking Quests and document the details of the experience and your feelings- 7@5 pts = 35 pts
  
• Create your Personal Awe Story- 35 pts
  

Level 3: After completing level two, earn another 100 points and win the game by completing the following activities:

• Complete Power Ups from your personal list- 30 @ 1pt each = 30 pts
  
• Participate in Awe Seeking Quests, document the details of the experience, and your feelings- 7@5 pts = 35 pts
  
• Review your 21 Awe Seeking experiences and the feelings you documented, then respond to the question, “How would my life change if I measured it by moments rather than the clock?” - 35 pts
  

Over the next three weeks, with the help of my allies, I will play this Game of Awe . I’ll share my experience and the results of the final quest in next month’s essay.

Recommended Resources:

https://gratefulness.org/

Jane McGonigal: SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully

Jane McGonigal: TedGlobal 2012 - The game that can give you 10 extra years of life

Dacher Keltner: Why Awe is Such an Important Emotion

Dacher Keltner: Why Do We Feel Awe?

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