Real Life Comes First

Anytime I am stressed, bored or just need some self driven motivation; I switch on my computer and play a game or two. Video Games have always been a part of my life when I'm not working or out with family. For quite some time I even focused my YouTube channel on gaming. I love gaming. Do you lose touch with reality though? Do you lose touch with how to think and act? Video Games are fun and have been proven methods of stress relief, at least in my experience. Some games, however, should not be as widely available as candy in the store. Say you are 10 years old and mom gives you $5 to spend on any candy you want. You walk into the store and buy your most favorite candy ever and eat it right up. Your brain is trained to know what that candy is and your body likes that candy. You have a chemical that sends a signal to your brain called endorphins. Endorphins are released through laughter and happiness. If something you do makes your brain feel good, it makes you as a person more happy. Games are meant to do the same thing, even if it is bad for your mind. I see the mind and the brain as two different things. Your brain is the physical muscle inside your skull that controls what you do and how you react to different things. Your mind is the thoughts and process development that you feel. Both are trained, so to speak, to do what you want. That is “Free Will”. What happens when you put other things aside in the pursuit of getting that next level completed? You lose touch with personal relationships, you forget to do important things, family and friends may get upset with you and then you become angry, “because they messed you up”. Video Games are digital, computer generated images that you can control. They are meant to be played over and over in most cases. Video Games also come with two features that most gamers often forget about; Pause and Save. I have a few role playing games that I sometimes find very hard to put down. The next thing I know I spent my entire Saturday playing a game on the computer. I have personally lost hours upon hours of life due to games. Remember as you play games that life outside in the real world is extremely more important than that next level. When you keep that phrase I used for the title on the forefront of you mind, your play/life experience will be much better. Enjoy the game you are playing but remember that real life comes first.