This week we will kick off a series inspired by a video game I recently played call Lies of P.  Our first entry is about expecting difficulties.

Lies of P (click for the trailer) is a darker reimagining of Pinocchio.  You play as Pinocchio in a world where robots, called puppets, have gained sentience, and turned against humans.  On top of all of this, there is some mysterious plague going around and other foul forces at play.  Anway, I was playing the game and was dying A LOT.  Alice, my daughter, noticed this and said, “You’re failing a lot.  Why aren’t you getting upset at the game?”  I thanked her for pointing out that I was failing so much 😉, and then I explained, “I’m not upset, because this game is exactly what I thought it would be.  From the trailers and what I heard about the game I knew it would be a cool/creepy story, interesting game mechanics, and HARD bosses.  I went into it assuming that I would fail a lot and that I would have to get good in order to make it.  Now if a Mario game was this hard, I’d be super upset, because Mario games don’t position themselves to be soul crushing games.  However, this game from the beginning has made it clear that it is about being tough and challenging players.  I also went into the game knowing I’d feel awesome once I made it through the game’s challenges.  ”

What does this have to do with anything?  I wasn’t frustrated with the game, because I EXPECTED it to be difficult.  I EXPECTED to run into challenges that I wouldn’t get past on the first, second, or even tenth try.  Since I expected these things, I wasn’t upset when they happened.  I understood that the failed attempts were just the price you have to pay before you can do great stuff. 

Now think about a time when you were frustrated at work.  Were you frustrated because it was difficult OR were you frustrated because you didn’t expect it to be difficult?  There’s a big difference.  I’ve found when I get the most frustrated at work, it’s usually because I didn’t expect that situation to be difficult.  It’s because I’ve assumed that things would be smooth sailing.  As I’ve matured over my career, I’ve learned to expect bumps.  I’ve learned to expect things to go sideways.  I’ve come to appreciate that the job isn’t doing all the things in the job description, but dealing with all of the unexpected stuff that pops up as you try to do the things listed in the job description.  I’ve learned to expect things to be challenging, so I’m not thrown off when they are.  I’ve learned that going through the bumps and obstacles is the price you pay to do great things, and how amazing it feels to achieve something after struggling through obstacles.

The challenge: How will you readjust your expectations to expect difficulties?

Side note: If you are into Soulslike games and haven’t tried Lies of P yet, I’d definitely recommend it.  It is one of my favorite games in that genre that I’ve played and I’m pumped to say that I actually beat it!

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry