Welcome — However You Found Your Way Here
How The Journey Began
As a kid, I used to dive into video games not just for fun — but for escape. Video games were stories I couldn’t explore in real life. I preferred leveling up my characters, exploring epic worlds, unlocking new abilities, and compelling stories.
It felt good to grow, even if it was only on-screen. What I didn’t realize back then was that I was building the blueprint for how I’d eventually grow in real life.
Games like Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have done more for me than just fill time — they’ve challenged me, shaped me, and slowly helped me believe that I could grow, not just in-game… but as a person.
My Childhood: Escape Was Growth
When I was younger, I didn’t think I was smart enough, strong enough, or confident enough to handle the real world. Trial and error felt too risky in real life and criticisms felt like real physical damage—especially if personal resources weren’t aplenty.
So I turned to video games as my main source of escape.
In those digital worlds, failure was temporary, and effort was always rewarded. I could try, and I could improve — without judgment, fear of failure, and tools to increase EXP and skills faster than in real life.
Games gave me what school, social life, and expectations couldn’t: a space where I could grow at my own pace.
As silly as it might seem, I found something valuable from being a gamer that I didn’t bother to find in real life: tools and lessons in disguise.
It took me over 10 years to see what I was blind to and, what I was doing in my games, I could have applied the same effort in real life.
Adulthood: Facing Reality (With Gaming EXP)
Fast-forward to the present — living on my own, juggling two jobs, exhausted and worn down as hell, but still alive and kicking. Then, suddenly, I starting to see it:
The way I’ve been playing in Elden Ring, how it pushes me to improve and try again, in a small way, is how I show up in my own life.
In Elden Ring, I do complain, I rage when my character dies — either I wasn’t paying attention, I died to a boss enemy, or got impatient and the game had to put me in my place — I make mistakes. While I did give up initially, I grew comfortable with the constant failures because I could try again — with a new approach.
That’s not just a gaming mindset. That’s applicable to real life as well.
Growth Lessons From Elden Ring and Other Soulsborn Games
I used to hate how difficult Elden Ring was because it had no difficulty setting you could change it to. It punished those who would like to coast in the game. But now I appreciate it — because it forced me to learn, adapt, and evolve.
Just like life does.
And honestly? That’s been a gift. The game rewards me when I’m patient. It punishes me when I rush. It makes me earn every inch of progress — and that’s made every victory feel earned, not given.
Life has a similar, uncanny innate mechanism to FromSoft’s games. You can try something, fail at it, or rise from the supposed failures life threw at you—just like The Tarnished, The Hunter, and Wolf do after every defeat.
The rise again and we can do the same if we choose to.
While I know that I don’t have a grand objective like these protagonists—become the Elden Lord, hunt monsters, or save my liege from imprisonment—the beauty of our lives is we get to choose our own objectives, lessons, successes, and how we approach failure.
The Biggest Lesson: I’m Capable of Growth Outside of the Games
For most of my life, I didn’t think I could improve. I thought that I was born a failure and that my lot in life was because I didn’t win the supposed “lottery” at birth. But these games showed me that I could — through persistence, strategy, and self-reflection—do and be better.
I just have to apply the same methodology to everything else in my life:
After work has finished and I’m safe at home, I take stock of what happened in the day. I do my best not to spazz out when things go wrong — I slow down and observe to the best of my abilities, and make due with what I have. Even if it’s not a success, as long as I wake up, I can keep trying again and again until I can’t.
In life, I don’t fear failure the same way I used — I know it’s part of the process. It’s part of earning EXP. Even in writing this blog, I’m leveling up — using trial and error, not waiting to be perfect, but just good enough in my own eyes.
In Conclusion – Call to Reflect
Tell me, Fellow Archivists,
- “What lessons have your favorite games taught you about life? How have you applied them outside of the screen?”
- Which in-game failures taught you the most about resilience?”
- “How do you turn lessons from games into real-life progress?”
Level Up With Me
If this post resonated, consider pressing “like” to unlock a little XP for the archive, subscribe to keep up with my ongoing quest, or share with fellow archivists who might benefit from these lessons.
Every click, share, or follow is like finding a hidden item chest — it helps this little corner of the internet keep growing and reaching others leveling up alongside us.
Games As IRL Preparation
If you’re someone who’s ever felt like real-life growth was out of reach… I get it. I lived that. But maybe the hours you’ve spent getting destroyed by Malenia Blade of Miquella, failing to parry Genichiro Ashina, or escaping the nightmare streets of Yharnam weren’t a waste of time.
Maybe they were preparation.
You were learning how to fall, how to rise, how to be patient with your own evolution. That counts for something — maybe even everything.
This space is for the weary, the wondering, and the wandering. I’m not here to teach—just to share what I’m learning, while I’m still in it. Read quietly, reflect deeply, or share if it speaks to you.
Sharing opens the path to others like us to find this little pocket of the internet. No pressure. Just presence.
You can check out my other video game inspired works down below:
Learning to Pick Locks Like In Video Games
Achievement Unlocked: My First Lock Opened
The Moment I Stopped Waiting for Permission
The Stratagem’s Archive: You Begin Here:
Thank You For Reaching the End
You can preview what fellow subscribers can get first in their inboxes before everyone else as thank you for reading all the way to the end, for spending some time here, and leveling up together.
