Know the Rules, Know the Objective

Before you can play the game, any game, you need to know two things, the rules and the objective.  This turns out to be true for the games we call games and the ones we call life.

There are a few people that play any game by their own rules or so it would seem.  What they have discovered either by luck or by design is that there are usually two sets of rules, one that is written and one that is not.  They have become adept at playing by whichever set of rules benefits them the most for any given set of circumstance.  This is what we must learn and the faster we can learn it the better off we are.

I have spent far to many years trying to avoid trouble by playing by the rules as they were written and stated, trying to be the good boy only to find that I could still get into trouble even with the best of intentions.  This is not a recipe for success.  It can be a means to be beaten into submission.

It is better to learn what the real rules are and follow the ones that work.  This is where the real returns on investment are to be had.

A close second to knowing the rules is knowing what the objectives are.  This includes the objectives set down by those that created the game and of course the objectives you set for yourself.  When you met the objectives of the game you are rewarded with advancement to the next level.  When you meet the objectives of another you can also be rewarded, but in order to do so you must know what the objectives are for that other person.  One of the best ways to learn what those objectives are is by asking and through observation.  Many will say one thing but really mean something else.  I have learned this lesson well in an earlier job when I was told that quality was most important but the thing that really paid dividends and was the real driver to advancement was quantity.  As I cranked up my production I found that the number of times my work was reviewed actually decreased but the amount of notice by management increased until I was ranked number 1 in the division I was in.

By the way, the quality of my work did not suffer.  I would not allow it.  One of the overriding rules in all of this is to 'never compromise your integrity'.  You should never, no never, lower your standards, you are too important to allow that to happen.  There is no reward great enough to offset the price paid of lowering your standards.  And that defines what the last objective of any game is...the objective you set for yourself.

The decisions you make about who you are, and who you are going to be are the most important goals you set in life.  These are the goals that are the objectives of the game of life that should override all others.  Whenever you come upon a time where two objectives are competing for your attention, talents and resources, it is then that you rely upon the priorities you have already set for yourself and the answer of which to choose has already been made.  Then it is only a matter of following through with that choice.

To thine own self be true.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.