Life's Infinite Games: Understanding Our Choices & Playing By Our Rules

Growth Mindset: Psychology of self-improvement

Practical Psychology for navigating life's challenges and cultivating joy.

Sam Webster Harris explores the concept of life as a series of games, blending psychological insights with practical wisdom. He discusses how every aspect of life involves some form of gameplay, from professional networks like LinkedIn to personal decisions and social interactions.

We dig into the intersection of Philosophy and Psychology to understand the experiencing self and how we navigate our moments.

Sam emphasizes the importance of understanding the different 'modes' of approaching life's games—machine, intelligent, and zen. He advocates for living authentically, focusing on self-amusement, and challenging societal norms.

Learn to apply some of the more surreal and abstract concepts of the mind into real life:

• How to understand what game you are playing?
• Establish what is really at stake
• Define the rules for yourself to play your own game
• Have more fun

The episode encourages listeners to reassess their motivations and redefine what winning means in their personal game of life.

Further reading:

• Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas R. Hofstedter
• Finite and Infinite Games - James P. Carse
• The Infinite Game - Simon Sinek
• The Way of Zen - The Taboo of Knowing Who You Are - Alan Watts

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Meet Sam

• Free Call - Schedule Link

Influence the Show

• Feedback - Request and Ideas Form

Growth Mindset pod:

Sam Webster explores the psychology of happiness, satisfaction, purpose, and growth through the lens of self-improvement.

• Watch - YouTube (Growth Mindset)
• Mail - GrowthMindsetPodcast(at)gmail.com
• Insta - SamJam.zen
• Newsletter - Expansive Thinking

Chapters:

00:00 The Concept of Life as a Game

01:28 The Rules of Life's Games

03:17 The Games of LinkedIn and Appearance

06:30 Life Lessons - Philosophy for fun and success

11:36 Your Point of View is First Player

14:03 The Three Modes for Playing Games

15:00 Applying the Modes to Social Media, News and Health

17:00 Final Thoughts

18:00 Housekeeping and Recommendations

Topics:

• understanding life games and personal growth
• how to play life games on your own terms
• mastering life games for more fun and success
• psychological models for better life decisions
• navigating life's games with mental models
• building mental strength through understanding games
• enhancing life strategies with cognitive psychology
• applying psychology to everyday life games
• tips for playing life's psychological games
• dealing with societal expectations psychologically
• philisophical insights into life's hidden games
• developing self-awareness in life's games
• practical psychology for navigating life's challenges

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