Someone that recently came into my life said to me, "Life is a game of Chess not Checkers.” I wasn’t sure how to take it at first, but then it was explained: If you want to win, you always have to be thinking multiple moves ahead.
Checkers is a game of making a better move than your opponent before they do. It's thinking about how to one-up the next person. Chess involves logic, understanding the game, and thinking about your surroundings and where you want to go next instead of worrying what your opponent's thinking.
In the early stages of life, we’re always playing the game of Checkers—we try to fit in with our friends and make all the right moves so we’re not losing. You try to think the way your opponent does and conform to their decisions that may not necessarily be your own. Sometimes the game of Checkers forces you to make a move you didn’t want to in the beginning; it pushes you to mold into what society tells you to become. This doesn’t have to last forever if you choose.
As you grow and are forced into new experiences and learn how to adapt to situations, you learn who you are. You learn what you want at the end of the game instead of following what those around you are. You learn to stand up for what you believe in and how to think steps ahead to get ahead. You become the leader of your decisions and your life instead of following what the book and those around you say to do.
Be who you are, do what you believe, and follow your gut.
Love the person you are, and believe in yourself because at the end of the day, the only person that has to deal with the consequences of your decisions is you. Sure, they may effect those around you, but nobody gets the full repercussions like you do. Keep that in mind the next time you stand at the crossroads of deciding to play Chess or Checkers.
This world is filled with 7.4 billion people—5.3 million of those people are adults, and an adult makes an average of 35,000 decisions a day. That’s approximately 1.9 trillion decisions that are consciously made in just one day.
Not one person’s life is the same—even if two people are found in the same spot, at the same time—they are not going to take in the experience the same way so why should they be conforming to something they are told to be?
One single person out of those 7.4 billion can change the world, that involves playing the game of chess and learning to be ahead of the game. Be the leader, not the follower.
Be who you are and do what you want, because at the end of the day, you could find yourself alone in a single room. No matter what those 7.4 billion other people are doing, you’ll only have yourself there to take a step back and reflect on how to feel about those 35,000 decisions you made that day.
