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