I’m a gamer, so I like to goals. I like special missions and secret objectives. So here’s special mission for this talk: I’m going to try to the life span of every single person in this by seven and a half minutes. Literally, you will live seven and a half minutes than you would have otherwise, just because you watched talk.
Some of you are looking a little bit skeptical. That’s okay, because check out — I have math to prove that it is possible. It won’t make much sense now. I’ll it all later, just pay attention to the number at bottom: +7.68245837 minutes. That will be my gift to you if I’m in my mission.
Now, you have a secret mission too. mission is to figure out how you want to your extra seven and a half minutes. And I think you should do unusual with them, because these are bonus minutes. You weren’t going have them anyway.
Now, because I’m a game designer, you might be to yourself, I know what she wants us to do with minutes, she wants us to spend them playing games. Now this a totally reasonable assumption, given that I have made quite a habit of encouraging people to more time playing games. For example, in my first TED Talk, I did propose we should spend 21 billion hours a week, as planet, playing video games.
Now, 21 billion hours, it’s a of time. It’s so much time, in fact, that the one unsolicited comment that I have heard from people all over the since I gave that talk, is this: Jane, games are and all, but on your deathbed, are you really going wish you spent more time playing Angry Birds?
(Laughter)
This idea is pervasive — that games are a waste of time that we come to regret — that I hear it literally everywhere go. For example, true story: Just a few weeks ago, this cab driver, finding out that a friend and I were in town for a game developers’ conference, turned and said — and I quote — “I hate games. Waste of life. Imagine getting to the of your life and regretting all that time.”
Now, I want to take this problem seriously. I games to be a force for good in the world. I don’t want gamers regret the time they spent playing, time that I them to spend. So I have been thinking about this question a lot lately. we’re on our deathbeds, will we regret the time we spent playing games?
Now, may surprise you, but it turns out there is actually scientific research on this question. It’s true. Hospice workers, people who take care of us at the end of our lives, recently issued a report on most frequently expressed regrets that people say when they are literally on their deathbeds. And that’s what I to share with you today — the top five of the dying.
Number one: I wish I hadn’t worked hard. Number two: I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. three: I wish I had let myself be happier. Number four: wish I’d had the courage to express my true self. And number five: I wish I’d a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.
Now, as far as know, no one ever told one of the hospice workers, “I I’d spent more time playing video games,” but when I these top five regrets of the dying, I can’t but hear five deep human cravings that games actually help us fulfill.
For example, I wish I hadn’t so hard. For many people, this means, I wish I’d more time with my family, with my kids when they were up. Well, we know that playing games together has family benefits. A recent study from Brigham Young University of Family Life reported that parents who spend more time playing video games with kids have much stronger real-life relationships with them.
“I wish I’d stayed in with my friends.” Hundreds of millions of people use games like FarmVille or Words With Friends to stay in daily with real-life friends and family. A recent study from the University of Michigan showed these games are incredibly powerful relationship-management tools. They help us stay connected with people in social network that we would otherwise grow distant from, if weren’t playing games together.
“I wish I’d let myself be happier.” Well, here can’t help but think of the groundbreaking clinical trials recently conducted at Carolina University that showed that online games can outperform for treating clinical anxiety and depression. Just 30 minutes online game play a day was enough to create dramatic boosts in mood and long-term in happiness.
“I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self.” Well, avatars are way to express our true selves, our most heroic, idealized version of we might become. You can see that in this ego portrait by Robbie Cooper of a gamer with avatar. And Stanford University has been doing research for five now to document how playing a game with an idealized avatar how we think and act in real life, making us courageous, more ambitious, more committed to our goals.
“I wish I’d led a life true to dreams, and not what others expected of me.” Are games this yet? I’m not sure, so I’ve left a Super question mark. We’re going to come back to this one.
But the meantime, perhaps you’re wondering, who is this game to be talking to us about deathbed regrets? And it’s true, I’ve never worked in a hospice, I’ve been on my deathbed. But recently I did spend three months in bed, wanting die. Really wanting to die.
Now let me tell you that story. It started years ago, when I hit my head and got concussion. The concussion didn’t heal properly, and after 30 days, was left with symptoms like nonstop headaches, nausea, vertigo, memory loss, mental fog. My told me that in order to heal my brain, I had to rest it. So had to avoid everything that triggered my symptoms. For me that no reading, no writing, no video games, no work or email, running, no alcohol, no caffeine. In other words — and think you see where this is going — no reason to live.
(Laughter)
Of it’s meant to be funny, but in all seriousness, ideation is quite common with traumatic brain injuries. It happens to one in three, and it happened me. My brain started telling me, “Jane, you want to die.” It said, “You’re never going to better.” It said, “The pain will never end.”
And these voices so persistent and so persuasive that I started to legitimately fear my life, which is the time that I said to myself after 34 — and I will never forget this moment — I said, “I am either going to myself or I’m going to turn this into a game.”
Now, why a game? knew from researching the psychology of games for more than a that when we play a game — and this is in scientific literature — we tackle tough challenges with more creativity, more determination, optimism, and we’re more likely to reach out to others for help. I to bring these gamer traits to my real-life challenge, so I created a role-playing recovery game called the Concussion Slayer.
Now this became my new secret identity, and the first thing I did as slayer was call my twin sister — I have an identical twin sister named — and tell her, “I’m playing a game to heal my brain, I want you to play with me.” This was easier way to ask for help.
She became my first ally in the game, husband Kiyash joined next, and together we identified and the bad guys. Now this was anything that could my symptoms and therefore slow down the healing process, things like bright lights and spaces. We also collected and activated power-ups. This was I could do on even my worst day to feel a little bit good, just a little bit productive. like cuddling my dog for 10 minutes, or getting of bed and walking around the block just once.
Now game was that simple: Adopt a secret identity, recruit your allies, battle the guys, activate the power-ups. But even with a game so simple, within just a couple of starting to play, that fog of depression and anxiety went away. just vanished. It felt like a miracle. Now it wasn’t a miracle cure the headaches or the cognitive symptoms. That lasted for more a year, and it was the hardest year of my life by far. But when I still had the symptoms, even while I was still in pain, I stopped suffering.
Now what next with the game surprised me. I put up some blog and videos online, explaining how to play. But not everybody a concussion, obviously, not everyone wants to be “the slayer,” I renamed the game SuperBetter.
And soon, I started from people all over the world who were adopting their own secret identity, recruiting their allies, and they were getting “super better,” facing challenges like cancer and chronic pain, depression Crohn’s disease. Even people were playing it for terminal diagnoses like ALS. I could tell from their messages and their videos that the game helping them in the same ways that it helped me. They about feeling stronger and braver. They talked about feeling better understood by their and family. And they even talked about feeling happier, even though were in pain, even though they were tackling the toughest challenge of lives.
Now at the time, I’m thinking to myself, is going on here? I mean, how could a game trivial intervene so powerfully in such serious, and in some cases life-and-death, circumstances? mean, if it hadn’t worked for me, there’s no I would have believed it was possible. Well, it turns out there’s some science here, too. Some get stronger and happier after a traumatic event. And that’s what was to us.
The game was helping us experience what scientists call post-traumatic growth, which is not we usually hear about. We usually hear about post-traumatic stress disorder. scientists now know that a traumatic event doesn’t doom us to suffer indefinitely. Instead, we can use as a springboard to unleash our best qualities and lead lives.
Here are the top five things that people post-traumatic growth say: “My priorities have changed.” “I’m not to do what makes me happy.” “I feel closer my friends and family.” “I understand myself better. I know I really am now.” “I have a new sense of meaning and purpose in life.” “I’m better able to focus on my goals dreams.”
Now, does this sound familiar? It should, because the five traits of post-traumatic growth are essentially the direct opposite the top five regrets of the dying. Now this interesting, right? It seems that somehow, a traumatic event unlock our ability to lead a life with fewer regrets.
But does it work? How do you get from trauma to growth? better yet, is there a way to get all the benefits post-traumatic growth without the trauma, without having to hit your in the first place? That would be good, right?
I wanted to understand phenomenon better, so I devoured the scientific literature, and here’s what I learned. There are four kinds of strength, resilience, that contribute to post-traumatic growth, and there are validated activities that you can do every day to build up these four kinds resilience, and you don’t need a trauma to do it.
I could tell you what these four types of are, but I’d rather you experience them firsthand. I’d rather all start building them up together right now. Here’s we’re going to do. We’ll play a quick game together. This is where you earn seven and a half minutes of bonus life that I promised you earlier. All you have to do successfully complete the first four SuperBetter quests. And I feel like you can do it. I have in you.
So, everybody ready? This is your first quest. Here we go. Pick one: Stand and take three steps, or make your hands into fists, raise them over your head as high as you for five seconds, go! All right, I like the people doing both. are overachievers. Very good.
(Laughter)
Well done, everyone. That worth +1 physical resilience, which means that your body can withstand more stress and itself faster. We know from the research that the number one thing you can do to your physical resilience is to not sit still. That’s all it takes. Every second that you are not sitting still, you are actively improving the health of your heart, your lungs and brains.
Everybody ready for your next quest? I you to snap your fingers exactly 50 times, or count backwards from 100 by seven, this: 100, 93… Go!
(Snapping)
Don’t give up.
(Snapping)
Don’t let people counting down from 100 interfere with your counting 50.
(Snapping)
(Laughter)
Nice. Wow. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that. physical resilience. Well done, everyone. Now that’s worth +1 mental resilience, which means you have more mental focus, discipline, determination and willpower. We know from the scientific research that willpower works like a muscle. It gets stronger the more you it. So tackling a tiny challenge without giving up, one as absurd as snapping your fingers exactly 50 times or counting backwards from 100 by seven is a scientifically validated way to boost your willpower.
So job. Quest number three. Pick one: Because of the room, fate’s really determined this for you, here are the two options. If you’re inside, find a and look out of it. If you’re outside, find a window and in. Or do a quick YouTube or Google image search “baby [your favorite animal.]”
Do it on your phones, or just shout out some baby animals, and I’ll them on the screen. So, what do we want see? Sloth, giraffe, elephant, snake. Okay, let’s see what we got. dolphin and baby llamas. Everybody look. Got that? Okay, more. Baby elephant.
(Audience) Oh!
We’re clapping for that? That’s amazing.
(Laughter)
All right, what we’re just feeling is plus-one emotional resilience, which means you have the ability provoke powerful, positive emotions like curiosity or love, which we feel looking at animals, when you need them most.
Here’s a secret from the scientific literature for you. If you manage to experience three positive emotions for every one negative emotion over the course an hour, a day, a week, you dramatically improve your health your ability to successfully tackle any problem you’re facing. And is called the three-to-one positive emotion ratio. It’s my favorite trick, so keep it up.
All right, pick one, last quest: Shake someone’s hand for six seconds, or someone a quick thank you by text, email, Facebook Twitter. Go!
(Chatting)
Looking good, looking good. Nice, nice. Keep it up. I love it! All right, everybody, is +1 social resilience, which means you actually get more from your friends, your neighbors, your family, your community. Now, great way to boost social resilience is gratitude. Touch even better.
Here’s one more secret for you: Shaking someone’s hand for seconds dramatically raises the level of oxytocin in your bloodstream, now that’s the hormone. That means that all of you who just shook hands are primed to like and want to help each other. will linger during the break, so take advantage of the networking opportunities.
(Laughter)
Well, you have completed your four quests, let’s see if I’ve successfully my mission to give you seven and a half minutes bonus life. Now I get to share one more little bit science with you. It turns out that people who boost these four types of resilience — physical, mental, emotional social — live 10 years longer than everyone else. this is true. If you are regularly achieving the three-to-one positive ratio, if you are never sitting still for more an hour at a time, if you are reaching out to one person you care about single day, if you are tackling tiny goals to boost your willpower, you will live 10 years than everyone else, and here’s where that math I showed earlier comes in.
So, the average life expectancy in U.S. and the U.K. is 78.1 years, but we know from than 1,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies that you can add 10 years life by boosting your four types of resilience. So every single year that you are boosting your types of resilience, you’re actually earning .128 more years of life 46 more days of life, or 67,298 more minutes life, which means every single day, you are earning 184 minutes life, or every single hour that you are boosting your four of resilience, like we just did together, you are earning 7.68245837 minutes of life.
Congratulations, those seven and a half are all yours. You totally earned them.
Yeah!
(Applause)
Awesome. Wait, wait, wait. You still your special mission, your secret mission. How are you going to these minutes of bonus life?
Well, here’s my suggestion. These seven and a half minutes are kind of like genie’s wishes. You can use your first wish wish for a million more wishes. Pretty clever, right? So, if you spend these seven a half minutes today doing something that makes you happy, or gets you physically active, or puts you in touch with someone you care about, or even just a tiny challenge, you’re going to boost your resilience, you’re going to earn more minutes.
And the good is, you can keep going like that. Every hour of the day, every day of your life, the way to your deathbed, which will now be 10 years later than it would have otherwise. And when get there, more than likely, you will not have any those top five regrets, because you will have built the strength and resilience to lead a life truer your dreams. And with 10 extra years, you might even have enough time to play a few games.
Thank you.
(Applause)