Taco Yeti's Words of Wisdom - Life & Speed Chess
Life should be played like a game of speed chess. When playing normal chess, we have time to consider all the different moves and stratagems our opponents are using, and the luxury to create and use complex stratagems of our own. Unfortunately, this thorough examination is rarely afforded to us in life.
Most speed chess games are decided by one player making a blunder, rather than as the result of a complex stratagem by the other. In fact, the most effective thing to do in speed chess is keep it simple, assume no strategy.
Great speed chess players are more concerned with tactics, move combinations that do not exceed 3. Speed chess boils down to seeing the board accurately at the current move. A player trying to use strategy is more concerned with the next ten turns than the immediate one, and will fail to notice a current opportunity, or possible weakness. Someone playing with tactics analyzes the board, and then moves accordingly, possibly abandoning a previous plan to pursue one that offers more reward. Tactical bravery is often rewarded when used against complex strategy, especially when play is timed. Knowledge of strategy is always important, but blind adherence to a single plan is never effective.
In life, we can view strategies as a kind of “path to success” someone else has walked. Take finding a job for example; examining how one person with the job you want and trying to copy their path will most likely result in failure. If you look at what a variety of people doing the job you want have done (multiple strategies), you can learn effective tactics.
Living in the present is the key to employing these tactics. We should have goals, and use our different tactics to get us to them. If you set a rigid plan in life for things such as relationships or career you WILL miss out on opportunities, and open yourself to pain that is probably not necessary. Playing life like speed chess you use the different tactics you have learned, and you use the tactic that is most suited to the task.
For those of you who are “hardcore”, I would recommend playing life like a game…or match (not sure, TBH) of Chess boxing. It’s not just a kick-ass Wu-Tang song, but an actual sport that has been covered on the ESPN!!!