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