Super Mario, Super Stars, and Invincibility

This week I’d like to kick off a series inspired by the Super Mario Brothers video game series. This week is about Mario, Super Stars, and invincibility.

Super Stars have been a staple of many Super Mario Brothers games. Once Mario grabs a Super Star, he becomes faster and INVINCIBLE, able to run through bad guys and projectiles without taking any damage. The only problem is that the Super Star is NOT permanent. The moment you activate a Super Star you only have a few seconds before the effects wear off. While the Super Star might provide a temporary boost, it’s not enough to get you to your ultimate goal. Sooner or later you become vulnerable again. If you keep trying to run through bad guys and obstacles the way you did when you were invincible your character will get hurt and eventually lose. Once you’re vulnerable again, you have to engage with the challenges instead of being able to hide behind the mask of invincibility.

How does this connect with anything? Similar to Mario, I’ve had periods of time where I make myself invincible. I convince myself that I can’t be hurt. I convince myself I don’t get tired. I shut my mind off to anything unpleasant and just keep pushing forward running through anything and everything in my path. At the same time, I ignore all that is truly happening around me and the impact it has on me. Do you ever do this?

I don’t think invincibility is all bad. There are times when we need that Super Star invincibility. There are times when we need to just plow forward for short bursts to get through something. At the same time, we can’t be invincible forever. Sooner or later, we have to remove the mask of invincibility and engage with life’s challenges as vulnerable people.

The challenge: Do you accept that you can’t always be invincible? How will you embrace the challenges of life as a vulnerable human?

Confession: I don’t know about you, but life has been extra crazy lately. I feel I’ve been tapping into invincible star power to push through for a few weeks. Now, I can feel that invincibility fading. When I was younger, I’d ignore that sign and run myself into the ground. But now, I’m already trying to make mental space to slow down, regroup, rest, and figure things out. If you’re feeling like your Super Star power is fading out, I hope you make room to rest and recover too.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Even Evil Fish have Birthdays (1-15-20)

Last week was about Tetris and building the right foundation. This week is about Super Mario and seeing the humanity in evil fish.

A few years ago I was playing Super Mario Brothers with my wife. In case you’re not familiar with the game, it’s your job to rescue the Princess from King Koopa. You play through a variety of levels to accomplish this task, including the dreaded water levels. We were at a water level, and to say it caused my wife to be anxious would be an understatement. She is terrified of any water level in video games. There is something about how the fish can move faster than your character that creeps her out. Anyway, we were in a level where this giant fish would jump out of the water and swallow you whole.

This fish terrified her. It got her every time and at one point, my wife got extremely frustrated and talked about how much she hated the fish. I said something along the lines of, “Come on, don’t hate the fish. Even evil fish have birthdays,” trying to make a joke about how even an evil fish shares something in common with her. She laughed, and now that quote hangs on one of the walls in our house.

So what does this have to do with anything? Although I said it jokingly, the point behind the comment was still true. Just because this fish thwarted her at every turn, didn’t mean she needed to hate it. This fish she completely opposed and her had at least something in common. Throughout my life I’ve found that when you disagree with someone, it’s easy to paint them in a horrible light. It’s easy to forget they are also human, and once you forget their humanity, it’s easy to turn them into a monster. Once they are a monster, it’s easier to hate them. It’s easier to justify treating them poorly. It’s easier to no longer feel like they deserve any amount of love, respect, or empathy. I imagine as you read this, a few dozen examples jump to your mind.

The challenge in all of this is remembering that the people you disagree with, even the people who are totally different from you are still human, and until we connect as humans it’s often difficult to move forward. The challenge: Will you strive to see the humanity in others?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Video Game Lessons Part 1 Our Princess is in another Castle… (10-12-16)

This week I’d like to kick off a series about the lessons I’ve learned from playing video games. This week is about tenacity and Super Mario Brothers and is partially inspired by a recent conversation I had with someone about driving to achieve lofty goals that always seem out of reach.

In case you’re not familiar with the game, you play as Mario, a plumber who somehow got transported to the Mushroom Kingdom. The Evil King Koopa has kidnapped the Princess and it’s up to you to save her. To save her you will have to defeat enemies across multiple stages of the Mushroom Kingdom. You’ll have to go down pipes, eat flowers that allow you to throw fire, eat mushrooms that make you grow, and you’ll have to go toe to toe with King Koopa. I remember being a 4 or 5 year old, defeating some levels, and beating Koopa in my first castle. After I beat him I was taken to a room where I received the message, “Thank you Mario! But our princess is in another castle!” Wait. What!?!?

That’s right. I’d survived the perils of the Mushroom Kingdom. I’d defeated who I thought was King Koopa only to learn that my journey wasn’t over yet. I celebrated the fact that I had saved Toad and had beaten the first castle. Then, I realized I had more enemies to defeat, more castles to conquer, more difficulties ahead of me. This was one of my earliest lessons in tenacity and perseverance, because the game doesn’t get easier. In fact, it gets more difficult. After hours of playing and trying, I eventually was able to defeat all the levels and save the Princess, which made me feel pretty awesome about my 4 or 5 year old self.

So what does this have to do with work? The work we do isn’t easy and the goals we set for ourselves are rarely easily achieved. How often do you reach the peak of a summit in your work to realize that the “princess” is in another castle? When you see this you have two options. The first option is to quit. The second option is to celebrate how far you’ve come and then grab a fire flower, start throwing fireballs, and continue on until you finally achieve your goal.

The challenge: Are you willing to put in the work to reach your goals “in another castle”?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry