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