I didn't use my power-up 🥲

Dear You,

I was playing Scrabble on my phone last week, and an ad popped up about a game with no ads. I was in disbelief and curious because if you play phone games, you definitely know that the ads are one of the most annoying things about them. So when they said there were no ads in this new game, and it looked exactly as advertised, I downloaded it to see for myself. No jokes! The game looked like it was advertised! I got hooked. I played the first 20 levels non-stop for a few minutes and was like yup! No ads! If any, it was so little that I barely noticed. They kept their promise.

Feeling impressed, I found myself returning to this game within the day. I was tackling a hard level, and I found myself saving moves for the end, and then, I ran out of moves and could not complete the level. It was the first time I failed a level in the game. I didn't use my power-ups, combos, or anything else. And just like that, I had failed. I was so shocked! Because I was super focused on playing and winning the game, I became unaware of my limited moves, and boom! I was dead. I lost! *inserts crying, smiley 😱🥲😭😭😭😭*. Then it occurred to me:

You can't always save your best moves for last or later because there might be no later. Life often feels limitless, but it is actually very limited. We don't have infinite lives or time. Sometimes, you might need to play your best moves first to survive the next phase. You can't always hoard your best move, power-up, or strategy.

It made me think about my life and times when I had failed because I was hoarding my best or my best strategy and hoping to give life a surprise attack, but life surprised me instead. Of course, there were times it worked, but most times, I have benefited from failing fast, playing my current best strategy to extend my time in the game or as an experience tax to create better opportunities for myself. This also plays out in how we choose to approach enjoyment in life. Putting off the great parts until later, choosing to live life only when we retire, waiting until December to catch a break, not giving your best work until you get a promotion, etc., the examples are endless. It looks different for everyone. No one can tell you when to use your best strategy, only you can. I don't know what it looks like for you, but think about it, and be more discerning about how and when you give your best, but whatever you decide, prioritise progress over perfection, and do your best to extend your participation in this game called life. We're all not going to make it out anyway, so put your best foot forward as often as you can. Fail fast and learn quickly. You'll always know you did your best and held nothing back; even better, you'll create more opportunities for yourself.

With Love,

Blessing Abeng.

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