Video Games Show Us the Way -- Belief

For the past several weeks, our Wednesday posts have focused on lessons learned from 18-year-old Kevin Birrell, a Grand Master at the exalted game of Tetris.  You can read all about Kevin and his accomplishment here.

We've spent the past several weeks learning great life lessons from a young man who has devoted his life to, of all things, video games.  For me, growing up, video games were something I was allowed to play for a few hours here and there, but was then told I needed to put them away and "do something real" or "do something important" or "go to bed".  I think for most of us who grew up in the Video Game Generation, this is true.

Even today, it seems parents wage a constant war between their kids wanting to play video games, and them worrying their children are wasting their lives on a fruitless pursuit.

If Kevin Birrell never heard any of these things from his parents, he's a lucky young man.

The fact is, Kevin had to learn to ignore all of his critics, to dismiss their nay-saying, and to stay focused on what he ultimately knew was his goal -- mastery of video games. 

All of us, no matter our calling, no matter our heart's desire, will have people telling us we can't do it, or we shouldn't do it, or it's foolish to waste our time doing it.  Those who succeed, those who find joy in following their heart, are the ones who ignore what anyone else says and trust in their own inner calling.

These nay-sayers come in several forms, some more insidious than others:

• Those who mean well -- Our parents, almost without fail, fall into this category.  The parents who tell their child to get away from the video games and go do something else aren't doing it to be cruel -- they genuinely have their child's best interests at heart, and believe that spending excessive amounts of time on things like video games will ultimately be a detriment to their future.  These are the same parents who tell their child not to pursue as their life's work music, or art, or climbing mountains -- they don't do it to dash their children's dreams, but because they worry for their future and their safety.
• Those who don't know any better -- We all "know" things that are patently untrue.  For millennia, everyone "knew" the Earth was flat, and that the sun revolved around the Earth.  This is the same phenomenon at work for people who will tell you without a shred of doubt, "You can't make a living writing music," or "Ancient Greek is a dead language -- no one will pay you to speak it if you waste your time studying it."  Yet there are people out there who make their living writing music and speaking otherwise dead languages.  These "knowings" are nothing more than assumptions made on faulty evidence.
• Those who wish to undermine your success -- These people are the worst of all, and sadly, they're all too prevalent.  These are the people who, nine times out of ten, just couldn't cut it.  They tried to do what you're trying to do, but failed, and out of their bitterness comes a deep, often unconscious, desire to destroy the dreams of anyone who would follow in their footsteps.  Often times, these folks end up teaching about the very thing they dreamed of doing but failed at.  (This is NOT to say that all art teachers are bitter failed artists, or that all creative writing teachers are bitter failed novelists -- far from it.)  

So what do you do in the face of this criticism?  Whatever the source -- good intentions, faulty logic, or abject hostility -- you keep going, you believe in yourself and your abilities and your dreams.  If you have the talent, if you have the drive, if you are willing to work harder than you have ever worked before to make your dreams come true, don't let anyone tell you you can't or shouldn't do it.  Ignore these critics, regardless of their motivations, and go for it.

For most of us, our creative dreams are the road less traveled, and while it may be a harder journey with an uncertain path and more potential roadblocks, the road we travel in life is, ultimately, our choice.  If you believe your path is down the road of creativity, then follow it, no matter what anyone may say.

Ultimately, I think you'll be glad you did.