We all eventually come to a point in some aspect of our lives where we just hit a brick wall (so to speak). Maybe it’s a job that we’ve been in for years and have no room for growth. Perhaps you marry and have children and feel like you have achieved everything you aimed for for so long. For many, this peak in a specific aspect of one’s life can cause a strong feeling of accomplishment with a very sudden and hard hit of depression, understanding that now you are lacking in direction. There’s so much life left to live, but you aren’t sure where that next goal is. It can cause a lot of people to question there purpose in life.

As someone who hasn’t really done a lot yet in life worth celebrating, I have found similar experiences in video games. This feeling of reaching a peak and having the choice of running around the top of the world in circles or sliding down the mountain can feel like there are no good options, either way you are going to be exhausted. There is always more to do, however.

My ideology is that you should always be searching for a new peak. Something new to aim for, something new to achieve. In video games, you can usually begin a new playthrough of a game with making different decisions. In life however, there is much more room for growth, you just have to adjust your mindset about where you are looking. Finding new life achievements to aim for is not the difficult part, it is changing your outlook to want to work towards those goals. Often times, things that once seemed unimportant to you will feel like the next thing that you need to be a more complete person.

Motivation can be tough to find for a whole bunch of people. When you take the time to figure out where you want to be in your future, the best thing anyone can do is just start taking steps in that direction. Story-driven RPGs are often notable for making the player feel like they hit spots often where they cannot continue without just grinding for hours/days/weeks/etc. If you decide that the end goal is what you desire, than just starting and doing tasks that you initially believe to be dull and boring are likely to move you along a lot more quickly if you just do them. Taking that time to over-examine your trials will only cut down on your morale and keep you from your goals.

Basically, just stop thinking and just start doing.