131 Quotes by Jane McGonigal

Every game we play activates our brain, and it’s the same brain we have in real life as we have in the game.

The idea of the ‘lone gamer’ is really not true anymore. Up to 65 percent of gaming now is social, played either online or in the same room with people we know in real life.

We mistakenly think that by putting ourselves first, we’ll finally get what we want. In fact, true happiness comes not from thinking more of ourselves, but rather from thinking less of ourselves – from seeing the truly small role we play in something much bigger, much more important than our individual needs.

The researchers worked with more than three thousand young gamers in total, and in all three studies they reached the same conclusion: young people who spend more time playing games in which they’re required to help each other are significantly more likely to help friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers in their real lives.

When we play games, our brains respond differently to stress and obstacles. We’re better able to control our attention and ignore distractions.

Or, worse, our real-world work isn’t hard enough. We’re bored out of our minds. We feel completely underutilized. We feel unappreciated. We are wasting our lives.

Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.

When we’re in game worlds, we become the best version of ourselves, the most likely to help at a moment’s notice, the most likely to stick with a problem as long at it takes, to get up after failure and try again.

Even if you never increase your physical or social resilience, seeking out more positive emotions every day alone can add a full decade to your life.