When my life is stressful, my favorite game is called 'Pop It,' where you pop balloons and prizes fall out. It's a five-minute game that focuses my mind and gives me extra attention when I'm stressed. Jane McGonigal More Quotes by Jane McGonigal More Quotes From Jane McGonigal You need to develop mental habits that allow you to activate the same brain patterns we activate during gameplay. Jane McGonigal patterns brain needs Games that make you feel good about yourself are good games to be playing. Jane McGonigal playing-games about-yourself feel-good Research shows that when we're under stress or facing a major obstacle, we tend to focus on our weaknesses and what we're afraid of. Jane McGonigal weakness stress focus There is so much more knowledge than most people realize about how to maximize the benefits of play and minimize the potential harms. Jane McGonigal benefits play people Over time, the games we play can change how we think and what we're capable of. And it's easy to maximize the benefits so the changes are positive. Jane McGonigal games play thinking We have to accept as a society that games are not escapist. They really do change us. Jane McGonigal escapists accepting games If you are a gamer, it’s time to get over any regret you might feel about spending so much time playing games. You have not been wasting your time. You have been building up a wealth of virtual experience that, as the first half of this book will show you, can teach you about your true self: what your core strengths are, what really motivates you, and what make you happiest. Jane McGonigal playing-games regret book Any time I consider a new project, I ask myself, is this pushing the state of gaming toward Nobel Prizes? If it's not, then it's not doing anything important enough to spend my time. Jane McGonigal pushing important enough Urgent optimism is the desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle, combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success. Jane McGonigal optimism belief desire We can boost our immune systems by strengthening our social networks and decreasing stress. Jane McGonigal social-network boost stress Avatars are a way to express our true selves, our most heroic, idealized version of who we might become. Jane McGonigal self motivational inspirational A traumatic event doesn't doom us to suffer indefinitely. Instead, we can use it as a springboard to unleash our best qualities and lead happier lives. Jane McGonigal motivation inspiration suffering I want to see a game designer nominated for a Nobel Prize. Jane McGonigal designer games want My mom is a public school teacher and works with third grade students. Jane McGonigal mom teacher school I've been running since high school. My boyfriend was on the track team, and I'd run with him. Jane McGonigal team running school If you make it a game, gamers will play it no matter what your motivation is in making it. Jane McGonigal motivation games play Clinically speaking, depression is a pessimistic sense of your own capabilities, and despondent lack of energy. Jane McGonigal pessimistic capability energy There are people who are very dismissive of games and gamers. Jane McGonigal gamer games people The real world just doesn’t offer up as easily the carefully designed pleasures, the thrilling challenges, and the powerful social bonding afforded by virtual environments. Reality doesn’t motivate us as effectively. Reality isn’t engineered to maximize our potential. Reality wasn’t designed from the bottom up to make us happy. Jane McGonigal powerful real challenges When we know our strengths, we're more likely to use them. Jane McGonigal use knows
