1: Turns out anxiety and excitement are the exact same emotion.

Physiologically, that is. Which just means how your body operates.

“Whether you are anxious about something or excited about it, your body responds in a nearly identical ‘high arousal’ state,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

How does your body react?

“You have excess energy, you may feel butterflies in your stomach, … continue reading

1: “I’m getting close to retiring and, frankly, it is scaring the bejesus out of me,” says Dennis, who is sixty-six and lives in rural Kansas.

“For the past forty years, Dennis has worked in higher education, overseeing grant programs for low-income students and serving as their academic adviser,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book  SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

“I’ve worked hard to help underprepared students find … continue reading

1: How do you personally respond when adversity strikes?

Do you see adversity as a challenge you can meet, or as a threat that could overwhelm you?

Your perspective on adversity significantly impacts your life.

Good news: There’s a proven way to shift from threat to challenge. Read on to learn how.

“In a threat mindset, you focus on the potential for risk, danger, harm, or loss,” Jane McGonigal writes … continue reading

1: Ready for an interesting fact about games?

When we play them, we almost never feel hopeless.

“It’s true,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

“Psychologists have studied the top emotions during game play, and genuine anxiety and pessimism are extremely rare,” Jane notes. “Even when we’re losing or struggling, we’re vastly more likely to feel determined and optimistic than panicked or powerless.”… continue reading

1: “Who wouldn’t want to lead a life truer to their dreams and free of regret?” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

Yesterday, we explored how people can become stronger and happier after trauma, a process scientists call “post-traumatic growth.”

And yet, Jane notes, “I’m pretty sure no one would ever choose to suffer a terrible loss, an injury, an … continue reading

How does creating a game help someone recover from a brain injury?

1: “How could a game so seemingly trivial, so admittedly simple, intervene so powerfully in such serious, in some cases life-and-death, circumstances?” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

Following her 2009 concussion, Jane was at her lowest point, plagued by suicidal thoughts.

Then, suddenly, she had a thought: What if … continue reading

1: Are you facing a challenge that feels overwhelming?  Are you walking through something really hard right now?

There is good news, Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.

Let’s start here. “You are stronger than you know. You are surrounded by potential allies. You are the hero of your own story,” Jane notes.

How do you access these powers that are already inside … continue reading

1: In the summer of 2009, researcher and game designer Jane McGonigal hit her head and got a concussion.

“It didn’t heal properly,” Jane writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully, “and after thirty days I still had constant headaches, nausea, and vertigo.”

Reading or writing was only possible for a few minutes at a time. “I had trouble remembering things,” Jane notes. “Most days I … continue reading

1: In her book Imaginable, New York Times bestselling author Jane McGonigal takes her readers through what she calls “futures thinking” that “inspires us to take actions today that set us up for future happiness and success.”

The guided exercise has us imagine our future self in great detail.

Imagine that it is our 80th birthday… 

“What are we wearing? Where are we? What’s around us? Who is around … continue reading