What if you were living in a computer simulation, like The Matrix, except not dystopian?
I like to think of myself as a Sim, playing a game without rules defined, facing a life that isn’t quite what I wanted.
what if you were a Sim?
Many nerds think we might be living in a computer simulation, that the universe doesn’t really exist in the way we think it does, that some higher-level intelligences are just toying with us. I pondered that possibility when I was in middle school. I wondered whether other people actually had inner lives, or was I just in some sort of dream landscape, sensations and situations channeled directly into my brain?
Later in my college philosophy courses I learned about the brain in a vat problem. This is the idea that we might be brains in vats, thinking our lives are really happening when we’re actually just experiencing virtual reality.
While living in a simulation may sound dystopic and unhappy, there is a benefit to thinking of yourself as living in one. It can help you see that you don’t have much control over the circumstances of your life. It can orient you to playing life as a game of both luck and skill, where you strive to do the best with what you’re given, rather than lamenting that you didn’t get what you thought you should.
Sometimes I say to myself, “Anne, pretend that you are a Sim. You feel like your past all happened but it didn’t. Someone concocted your memories for you and stuck you where you are now, with these people around you, this house to live in, these economic opportunities, and this (somewhat difficult) personality. Now go live it up!” Life becomes a game to play well rather than some heavy meaningful reality where things didn’t work out the way I wanted or the way I think they should have.
defining the game you are playing
I’ve just added a book to my reinvention reading list, The Last Word on Power by Tracy Goss, published in 1995. Dense with subtle and sometimes silly ideas about the reality of human life and how to aim at the impossible, TLWoP has become my new favorite guide for reinvention.
With the subtitle, Executive Re-Invention for Leaders Who Must Make the Impossible Happen, the book aims at people seeking to transform their businesses. However, the ideas apply to individual transformation as well.
A key idea in TLWoP is that you make up the rules. In this way it’s like The Sims, a sandbox game, where goals and objectives aren’t provided for you. You don’t have to stick with the rules that you have right now, such as “winning is becoming a tech multimillionaire” or “winning is having a marriage that lasts until one of you dies” or “winning is being a global Internet influencer.” Of course you could choose one of those things to be the game you are playing. But you are free to let go of those game rules you inherited from your parents or from the culture you grew up in. And instead design a new game that you’re going to play.
In a recent daily blog post I took a stab at defining the overarching objective of the new game I’m going to play. I used Goss’ idea of declaring a new possibility—taking a stand for something that I really want, but that feels impossible. I said “I declare the possibility that I can become a renowned Colorado abstract artist, one whose work is recognized by millions of people, and whose paintings are sought after by collectors.”
That is a kind of cool possibility but I’m not sure how much I am behind it as my new game to play. It seems not technological enough—I love playing around with tech—and too focused on external validation.
I gave some more thought to this and tried to come up with a game to play that really appealed to me. In fact, I do want to become an Internet influencer, in the abstract art and art reproduction photography space. I’m inspired by abstract artist Adele Sypesteyn, who started her YouTube channel when she was 65. Now she has over 90,000 subscribers and a thriving online art academy.
She was 65! I’m only 56! I have so much time to play this new game, and to get good at it.
What’s my new declaration? How about this one: I declare the possibility that I can create an online business to make a living from my art activities.
If you were a Sim instead of a real person, how might you behave differently? How could that free you up from the shoulds that dominate your life right now? How might you define some new goals and new objectives and play a new game?
If you were a Sim, and didn’t have to live the life you thought you should live, what possibilities might open up to you?
recent reinvention project posts
In April of 2024, I began a year-long reinvention project in which I am blogging my progress each day, then summarizing with a newsletter article each week occasionally. Here are some recent posts:
Wednesday advice — Day 241: How do I refresh my daily routine?
Thursday thinker — Day 242: China as the world leader on climate
Friday flash — Day 243: Dwelling in possibility
Saturday practice — Day 244: Where are you “how greedy”?
Sunday planning — Day 245: Week thirty-six planning
Monday money — Day 246: The difficulty of sticking with contrarian convictions
Tuesday book club — Day 247: Bringing the future into being with requests
Anne Zelenka is a painter, a mother, a writer, and a data scientist. She lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with her mother, two cats, and a dog.
and yes to all the abstract art!!!!
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