Humans secrete dopamine - a compound which provides a feeling of gratification to the brain, whenever they sense accomplishment in their life - be it from winning a sport, scoring a good rank, or heck even when they get an unexpected number of likes on an ostentatious photo they posted on Facebook/Instagram.

The so called ‘accomplishments’ are soon to be forgotten and what remains of them is a reminiscence of all the worthless ‘hard work’ they put in to get that instant gratification.

The gratification we get is ephemeral and once it ends, you end up imbibed in a slight feeling of remorse. The worst part is that this ‘illusion of winning’ runs in an constant loop. The only way to break free of this is by demarcating between the games which indeed are worth winning and the ones which provide you with ephemeral gratification.

In one short phase of my life, after a 9-5 job I spent an average of around 5 hours a day playing an online multi-player game. Reason - I was pretty good at it. Over time I realised that this is not the kind of satisfaction I seek and it would take me no where.

and this wasn’t even my peak time.

This is when I realized one key thing to keep with myself for the rest of my life.

“Don’t try to win the wrong game.”