***
The events described in some books remain in them. Such are fiction books and memoirs. The stories described there stay there. The effect of them might go on, but the stories remain between those covers and in the past of their occurrence, in case of memoirs, or in your reading and experiencing their stories, which applies both to memoirs and fiction.
The same applies to the anecdotes many non-fiction authors share in their books. That includes many of mine.
However, the concepts and methods shared in self-help, self-care, motivational, and other such books often continue to have an impact after publication, also on their authors.
And so does the idea of living in a discovery mode, which I shared in my latest book, Be Your Best Game Master.
While writing that book, I recommenced journaling. It adds up to gameful journaling, where I record the daily scores in my self-motivational and self-care games, which I have been doing for many years in a row.
My narrative journal today is very different from the ones I kept in my twenties. In the coming blog posts and articles, I will share bits of it and excerpts from my books, including the inspiring pearls of wisdom I quoted there.
Here is the first entry in my narrative life gamer’s journal, written as a letter to myself.
***
October 8, 2025
Hi Sweetie,
I tried to write to you sometime back, but then I thought journaling wasn’t for me. I also discovered gameful journaling with all those points and badges, and enjoyed it very much.
But there are still some hiccups in navigating my life that make some days hard to cope with, especially given the situation in the USA, Ukraine, and the world, in general, right now. Those concerns are sometimes more comfortable than pursuing what I want to do, especially if it is just me saying I want to do something and no one else is explicitly requesting it.
Today, I am starting to journal again. That comes partially from the idea in an article about optimism in the DR (Danmarks Radio (DR), Denmark’s national public-service broadcaster) that Michael (my husband) sent me. The idea was to journal struggles and write down possible solutions.
So, I will try that and see what happens. I will also read the recent book on journaling (I referred here to The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad), and both this book and writing here will be great research for my next self-gamification book, the working title of which is Gameful Journaling.
It really feels great to write down my feelings.
Thanks for these beautiful moments. I will see you in a bit, at the latest, when I remember this safe space, when I worry.
***
Secret 1 of Being Our Best Game Masters:
Games — of course, not all, and not the same for all — can be such safe spaces for us to be ourselves, to express ourselves, to be our most authentic selves. Learning and being inspired by games can be life-changing, and helping create such safe spaces outside the realm of games.
The closeness between games and life outside of the realm of games was the secret number one, which I shared in my book Be Your Best Game Master. Here is how I formulated it:
“Secret 1: Your life is a collection of games you design, develop, and play. That includes the games happening inside you.”
***
A pearl of wisdom:
In the first chapter of Be Your Best Game Master, I shared several pearls of wisdom. I often share Jane McGonigal’s piece on the main elements of games. But here is another I shared there, which I’ve shared only once more so far, but which I probably should share again and again, because it brilliantly shows that everything in life is a game. Here it is:
“As soon as you have a goal, you have a game.”
— Jason Fox, The Game Changer, The Game Changer: How to Use the Science of Motivation With the Power of Game Design to Shift Behaviour, Shape Culture and Make Clever Happen
And here are some thoughts I shared in that chapter.
“Everyone’s life is full of turns. My life has taken me to different countries, where I’ve met many wonderful people, including the person I fell deeply in love with, married, and had our two fantastic children with.
“However, some of the turns didn’t involve traveling to another country, meeting someone, or trying to do something new. One of the most dramatic and beautiful turns in my life was discovering a thought in a book.”
***
To discover more, read Be Your Best Game Master. You can get your copy below:
