Where do you assign your unique skill points in the game of life?
Do you ever feel like there are too many options for how to improve?
Do you get stuck on what to focus on next?
You’re not alone.
I consider myself an avid gamer.
Over the past year alone, I’ve probably logged a few hundred hours of time spent on games. That’s a lot to be sure, but games like Elden Ring, Destiny 2, and Horizon: Forbidden West are more than aimless pursuits for me.
When I find a game I like, I jump right in.
And as I dive deeper into my own self-development, I realize the benefits of looking to games for ways to improve the other pieces of my life.
Recently, I was enjoying an adventure as a galaxy-wandering space hunter in Destiny 2. It was there amongst the digital stars I stumbled upon some self-dev inspiration.
Destiny 101
In Destiny, you are a Guardian of the Light. You fight the Darkness (an ancient, unrelenting evil) and loot the treasure you find from one adventure to the next.
Image: This is my Destiny Character. On the left are my current weapons. On the far right are my current armor pieces. The series of numbers next to my armor are my skill points.
In other words, you’re a space pirate.
Every character has six skill attributes: Mobility, Resilience, Recovery, Discipline, Intelligence, and Strength. Each of these skills can make us faster, tankier, healthier, grenadier, superier, and punchier respectively.
(Don’t judge me — all of those are real words for sure)
With these powers in hand we can save the day from the Darkness, and as the game’s tagline suggests, “Become Legend.”
That may sound great, but there’s a catch:
Our primary skills require points in order to increase their effectiveness. And unfortunately for us, those points are limited.
In short, the game only allows us to only max out a few of our skills, not all six.
This is where every character build really begins though.
Image: This is an example of what a "Max" stat looks like in Destiny. You receive bonuses based on how many points you have assigned to that stat. In this case, all I want is speeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. Vroom.
In what we call “Min-Maxing”, you assign your stats to make you the most powerful space pirate imaginable. You make choices to prioritize some stats over others. And you effectively neglect some altogether in service of what matters to you.
The skills you prioritize become the linchpins in your character build. They change the flavor of your play style and how YOU want to experience the game.
You could become a robust super tank. You could become a grenade-lobbing speed demon. You could be a punchy healer. Or you could become something different altogether.
Destiny in the Real World
All this is to say that creating a character in Destiny is not unlike how we can think of skills in our own lives.
We work through our days as creatives and gain more experience. We buy tools to help advance our skills. And we spend money and time to sharpen them even further.
We choose what skills to focus on and what to leave behind.
For a moment, think of the six skills in Destiny. What if instead of those six, we considered six new ones that better reflected the core skills of a creative designer.
As an Architect and Project Manager for several years, I would argue that these might be amongst the six that all creatives have in some capacity:
Creativity — How do you solve problems or improve life through art?
Communication — How do you translate your ideas to the world?
Leadership — How do you serve your team, peers, and larger community?
Technical — How do you understand your craft and improve upon it?
Business — How do you serve clients and their vision?
Productivity — How do you manage yourself and your time?
Notice that I didn’t include something as a skill like “hard work” or “passion.”
As in Destiny, the amount of effort and time that we put in the game will bring more experience. Instead, these six skills are things that we each need to work on at a pace that aligns with our goals.
Each skill can be relatively improved by effort, but effort itself is not really a skill so much as it is the energy that fuels the effectiveness of a skill.
How to Use Your Skill Points Effectively in Life
Step #1 — Review Your Current Skills
If you were to evaluate yourself objectively, what are your strengths and weaknesses? We all start with both. The trick is establishing for ourselves where we stand and building out from there. It’s ok to not be good at something. I bet that means you’re fantastic at something else!
Step #2 — Consider the Long Term
What are your current goals now and for your future? Is there a way to work towards your goals and build a new skill at the same time? Do you need to establish a new skill as a prerequisite to accomplish your goals at all?
Step #3 — Consider Your Bandwidth
How much do you have on your plate right now? Can you pivot your focus to a new skill or do you need to wait for a moment to collect yourself?
Step #4 — Take Action To Earn Your Next Point
Small actions over time lead to big results. What is the smallest action you can take right now to get you that next skill point? If you want to be a better communicator, start a conversation. If you want to write a book, write your first sentence. If you want to run a marathon, put on your sneakers.
Step #5 — Reflect to Repeat
As you take small actions over time, the skill points will start to shift. You’ll see increases in some areas, no change in others, and possibly some atrophy with skills that no longer serve you. Take time as you progress to re-establish who you are today and who you want to be tomorrow. You can shift the points as you wish, but if you’re not paying attention, time will make those decisions for you.
Conclusion
In the end, we are the embodiment of our choices in our professions and in our lives.
Whoever you are today is because of the thousands and millions of choices you’ve made to get here.
The trick though is recognizing the pattern and then choosing to make refinements in your choices moving forward.
Don’t worry if you have it all figured out right now or not, that’s not the point. The point is that you have the ability to rework your focus so that you’re building towards something that suits who you want to become.
So, where do you put your skill points?
What kind of creative do you want to become?
As they say in Destiny:
Will you become legend?
Recent Finds
David Goggins — My biggest fear (Shorts) | A classic insight from David Goggins (via the Rich Roll Podcast) about putting it all out on the line every day. “Nothing’s a permanent fix” and we need to show up consistently and be there for ourselves.
Ryan Scavnicky — Elden Ring has a lot to teach us about immersive digital space (Essay) | This is one of the nerdiest essays I’ve ever read—I love it. A blending of design, architecture, and video games, this post (written by friend Ryan Scavnicky) is a wonderful example of how video games can yield impactful lessons for creatives of all kinds. Whether you’ve played the phenomenon Elden Ring or not, this article is fascinating.
The Tiny Wisdom — You can’t expect people to make you happy (IG) | This post hit me right in the feels. It’s a mini comic strip of sorts that reminds us happiness is something we grow from within. When we rely on others to be the source of all our joy, we can be left wanting. When we let ourselves become who WE want to be, we find that joy in ourselves.
Quote of the Week
“The will to win is wasted if it is directed towards trivial affairs.”
— James Clear
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
