The Game of Life
The Game of Life is a popular American game that was created in 1860 by Milton Bradley. The game is a “life simulator”, where a person travels through life, experiencing choices with college, jobs, marriage, children, and on to retirement.
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You may not have known this, but the original game wasn’t all about having the most money at the end of the game. In fact, the original version was more about vice, virtue, and happiness.
Milton Bradley originally created it to help teach children about ethics. he insisted that his game was “intended to forcibly impress upon the minds of youth the great moral principles of virtue and vice” (The Mansion of Happines: A History of Life and Death – See Amazon).
Unfortunately, it’s still a game, so money is a quick way to decide who the winner is. Yet, there are still a few life lessons that can be taught while playing the game.
So parents, grab the board game out of the closet for your next family night, and get ready to teach your kids a few life lessons that need to be mastered.
6 Life Lessons That Need to be Mastered
From this game, there are 6 specific life lessons that need to be mastered:
- How to Make Choices
- It’s About Money, But It’s Also Not About Money
- Life Isn’t All About You
- All of Us Are Playing the Same Game
- Debt Can Become a Problem
- Not Everyone Wins
How to Make Choices
In The Game –
There are a lot of choices to be made, and decisions have to be made if you want to win.
Life Application –
Life is full of choices. Do I want to go to college? Get married? Have children? Don’t forget about the career!
Whether we want to realize it or not, we make choices everyday; some big, some small. Learning how to make choices thoughtfully and effectively, while considering all the options, may bring about less problems in life.
It’s About Money, But It’s Also Not About Money
In The Game –
Money is the quickest way to decide the winner, but it also pays the taxes, buys the car, and so on.
Life Application –
Money is the way this world operates. And earning money is a necessity to pay for the basic needs of life, in addition to any wants that may be desired.
So, while making money is definitely a need, life satisfaction rarely comes from money. Now, having money can buy experiences that can bring happiness, but life satisfaction and happiness can be obtained without it.
Life Isn’t All About You
In The Game –
Players are presented with the option of getting married and having children early on in the game. If a player chooses to do so, his/her life is no longer all about them.
Life Application –
Having made the choice to get married and start a family, one must realize that life is no longer all about them.
A spouse and children’s needs need to be addressed and tried to be fulfilled! But the reality is that putting a child’s and spouse’s needs before ones’ self is a source of true happiness in life!
All of Us Are Playing the Same Game
In The Game –
Each player plays the same game, has similar choices, and follows the same rules.
Life Application –
All of us are playing the game of life…together! This means that we need to be less angry with one another and more understanding of each other and that unfortunately situations can and will happen to all of us. Be more understanding to your friends and family members when someone goes bankrupt, goes to the hospital OR GAME PARTS HERE.
Debt Can Become a Problem
In The Game –
Early on in the game, players are given a choice to go to school and buy a house, both of which will probably cause debt to be incurred. But be careful! Debt is hard to get out of!
Life Application –
Debt can become a problem, especially if you allow it to. In the game, it’s common to take on debt to get an education or buy a house. In most situations, doing so will bring about greater financial success; however, if you aren’t careful, that debt could become a problem.
Managing debt can help financially, as well as psychologically.
Not Everyone Wins
In The Game –
Unfortunately, it’s a game…so not everyone wins. But the reality is that we don’t always win in everything we do either. It’s tough to realize, but true nonetheless.
Life Application –
While we all will win in our own lives, keep in mind that not everyone wins at sports, at work, etc.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep that perspective, but doing so will enable you to try to become a better person and always strive for personal success.
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Final Thoughts – The Game of Life
We are all playing the game of life. As such, there are life lessons that ought to be learned as you go throughout life. While the actual game is fun to play on family night, it also teach some important lessons that all of us need to master.
As parents, we have a responsibility to teach these principles to our children. Do it with some class…a game night and treats 🙂
