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