Git Gud

I threw the controller across the room.

Well, that’s not really true. I gently tossed it on the couch, and then immediately worried I had damaged it. Still, I was upset.

I’d given up another interception.

A few years ago my wife surprised me with a Playstation 4 for the holidays. Yes, I’m an adult. Sure, I rarely have time to play anymore.

But when I find 30 minutes in the chaos of adulting to relax and goof off with a video game, it makes me feel like a kid again. Like there is nothing to worry about and your whole life is ahead of you.

My first game on the PS4? Madden NFL – the legendary football franchise.

I pop in the disc, load up the menu screen, and I’m transported back to my childhood bedroom, where I’d spend hours playing instead of watching the actual New York Giants on TV, much to my father’s annoyance.

“Yes,” I thought. “This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

And then, over the next hour, my excitement turns to frustration, and my frustration turns to anger.

Not only am I losing (badly), but I am unable to even complete a pass.

After a few minutes, it’s not even fun anymore.

I figure the settings must be too high. Maybe if I back off the difficulty I’ll get the hang of it, then work my way back up. Unfortunately, that theory proves fruitless.

It’s already at the lowest difficulty setting.

“This game is rigged,” I think. “It’s totally impossible.”

So I do what anyone does when their feelings are hurt: Hit Google in search of validation.

And yeah, it wasn’t just me.

Forum after forum I find newbie Madden users complaining that it’s too hard. But then, in every thread, veteran players step in to take the tiny violin out of our hands.

Repeatedly they offer the same solution:

“Git gud.”

Occam Was Right

Was the best selling sports video game of all time impossible to play? Or was I just painfully inexperienced?

Clearly, the latter.

Whenever you’re faced with a seemingly impossible task, ask yourself, “Is there someone else who would be able to solve this problem?” The answer is almost always ‘yes’.

In that case, there are only two ways forward: Either admit that you’re not good enough, and are unwilling to put in the work to get there (no shame in quitting – just be sure to quit before you start), or get good.

‘Git gud’ is cheeky Internet lingo for telling someone to work on their craft. In time I came to realize it was the only way forward. Was I willing to put in the time and effort to get good at Madden as an adult?

No, it turns out. Big waste of $65 (seriously, I can’t believe that’s what video games cost today. I’m getting old).

But in other areas of life, the answer is ‘yes.’

It’s up to you to decide when the answer is yes, and what that means for you.