eSports and Athletic Mindset
This past couple of days I've been spending a lot of time playing a few video games while on Thanksgiving break. Even though I have been counting down the days leading up to this break from work, I realized that playing games all day can be exhausting. I'm enjoying the games I'm catching up on, but after a couple of hours I lose motivation and decide to do something else. I have my TV in my bedroom and it's very tempting to take naps especially after eating meals.
This got me thinking about eSports and competitive gaming. In the past couple of years, I've been hearing more college offering scholarships, having collegiate tournaments and recognizing these students as athletes. I've personally don't follow traditional sports or esports but recognize the skill and dedication of the top athletics that make it to the top. When people have the dream of becoming an athlete, I often have a pessimistic reaction knowing that their odds of becoming a professional and making money playing the sport is very small. Would the time be better spent focusing on their academic careers that can lead to better job prospects in the future?
When I think of people trying to become competitive gamers, I have a bias and assume that they will be more successful in the future compared to traditional athletes. But in reality, both types of athletes are more similar than different. Both groups are in a highly competitive environment where very few get recognition. The amount of time required to practice and train your body mentally and physically automatically cuts out a majority of people who are not willing to dedicate their time. It's not just a matter of time, but as this CBS article stated, these athletes have the mindset that promotes problem-solving, teamwork and time management.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colleges-roll-out-scholarships-to-varsity-video-game-players/
Some people might criticize that eSports members shouldn't be called athletes because they may not be athletic when it comes to physical activities. Once you realize that even different sports such as long distance running and weight lifting can't be compared based on who is the better athlete, gamers would be in another category of their own. The muscle memory in dribbling a ball can be analogous to memorizing hotkeys and macros on a keyboard. I've tried both sports and competitive games, and they both end up the same way. Me rage quitting.
When thinking about how this applies to my situation, I'm not planning on becoming a competitive gamer but here are some things I can take away from the mindset of athletes.
1. Focus on improvement. One of the main reasons I wanted to create this site was to do something new and learn new skills along the way. While playing games I plan to write reviews, create content, and manage my time better. Consistency is key to improving any skill so I plan to make time to do a little every day.
2. Mental and physical fitness. There is a reason why athletes and innovators are young and usually in their 20s when they have their best ideas and achievements. It may be due to the fact that they are more open to taking risks and individual determination to follow through with their ideas. There is a lot of ideas and research on the connection between the mental and physical fitness. In order to be sharp mentally, you also have to take care of your body by eating healthy and exercise. In my experience, it's rare to see an unhealthy overweight competitive gamer.
3. Practice, Practice, and more Practice. I'm going to be treating this as my full job for the next 4 days. I'm going to be spending a lot of time trying to complete a few games and working on this site to add more content. I've been losing motivation knowing that my break is already half over. I need to put that in the back of my mind and think about the law of attraction and good things will come. I know I'm most productive in the morning and before deadlines, so I will use that to my advantage.
Let me know what you all think. Are you into competitive games? What game is worth trying out?