I’ve been playing Pac-Man ever since I can remember. My grandparents lived down the street from me growing up, and in their basement sat a vintage Pac-Man arcade machine that I played regularly whenever I visited. To this day, I play Pac-Man a few times a week. It holds a special place in my heart.
If you’re not familiar with the game of Pac-Man, lift up the rock you’re living under. Pac-Man is a simple arcade game where you play as a yellow circle that eats dots and flees from multicolored ghosts in an 8-bit maze. If the ghosts catch up to you, you die. You do this until you run out of lives or become bored with the game.
Although it may seem straightforward, there is a shocking amount of depth I’ve come to discover in the actions of this little yellow ball. I now realize there are a multitude of quintessential life lessons layered in between the pixels of Pac-Man. So, I want to share some real-life wisdom that has been bestowed upon me by this arcade machine from the ‘80s.
There is No Winning
Only 11 people have actually beaten Pac-Man. The original arcade game was not meant to be beaten, as the “ending” involves the game essentially breaking. So Pac-Man doesn’t have a set end to it. It’s meant to be played until you can’t anymore.
The game of life doesn’t have a set end, either. We just keep on moving through it until, one day, we don’t. We always try to be the best, to try and “win” in life. Sometimes, we’re so caught up in trying to get to the next phase of life, the next chapter in our story, that we don’t appreciate the one we’re in.
In our endless pursuit of the horizon, we sometimes fail to see the landscape before us. As Ferris Bueller famously said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Keep Calm Under Pressure
When you start to panic in Pac-Man, game over is not far off. Once the panic sets in, you make decisions without thinking. Those decisions can lead to your demise. In Pac-Man, survival doesn’t depend on your speed or fast reflexes, but rather your ability to remain calm when everything around you is not.
Life, similar to the ghosts, sneaks up on you. It can feel like a lot sometimes. We all have a multitude of problems to worry about each day, and dealing with them in a frantic manner usually doesn’t help.
Sometimes, it’s important to just go to the corner of the maze for a moment and breathe. Having a calm mindset doesn’t slow down the pace at which life passes by, but it allows us to move through our lives without losing ourselves.
Revenge is Not the Answer
The ghosts aren’t always the aggressors in Pac-Man. If you’ve ever played, you might remember the “power pellets” you can eat that make the ghosts vulnerable for a certain amount of time. Eating the ghosts gets you more points, but they always come back.
In my time with Pac-Man, I’ve found it beneficial not to chase after the ghosts. When the ghosts are vulnerable, they don’t chase after you. You have some time to navigate the maze without fear of the ghosts ending your campaign.
Instead of wasting time trying to get retribution, take advantage of the quiet time in the maze. Going after someone or something in life with vengeance never solves problems. Revenge is not the path towards peace.
Power-ups Don’t Last Forever
The tricky thing about the power pellets in Pac-Man is that there are only four of them on the screen. Although they’re a big help, their quantity is limited. The reason they’re so valuable is that they don’t last for long. You can’t rely on them for prolonged success.
We have an abundance of tools and items to help us out in life, but at the end of the day, our success depends solely on ourselves. We control our own destinies. Sure, you can use these power pellets and still make progress in Pac-Man, but if you’re not confident in yourself, in your own skill set, you will falter. Everything that we need to succeed is already inside us.
Life is a Game of Inches, or Rather Pixels
Pac-Man is a series of tight turns and quick decisions. However small these actions may seem, their importance is enormous. One move too slow, and you won’t be able to outrun the ghosts. One turn too fast could lead to your end.
Pac-Man is, furthermore, a game of pixels, the same way that life is a game of inches.
We expect major shifts in our lives to occur because of life-altering decisions or moments, but it’s really the small choices that hold the most impact. Those seemingly inconsequential decisions are the ones that change our lives, and Pac-Man’s life, the most. One inch at a time, one pixel at a time.
Before the Screen Goes Dark
If you’re ever in an arcade, an old dive bar or your grandparents’ basement and you see a dusty old machine in the back corner advertising a familiar yellow ball, I encourage you to go over there. Play a few rounds and ponder life: Profound wisdom can be found in the deepest corners of life’s mazes.
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