SuperBetter: How a gameful life can make you stronger, happier, braver and more resilient

SuperBetter: How a gameful life can make you stronger, happier, braver and more resilient
Jane McGonigal

A revolutionary new self-help book by top flight game designer Jane McGonigal.

After suffering a brain injury, Jane McGonigal came up with a game to help aid her recovery and battle the ensuing depression she experienced. Half a million people have now played this game to astonishing results: depression gone in 6 weeks in some cases and even terminal cancer patients reporting that playing the game gives them a sense of control over their own health. The book shows readers how to use these techniques to find strength and create positivity: readers can look to their own power-ups’ which are little things they can do to feel better and tackle the hurdles in their own lives.

This book provides simple step-by-step ideas that can be carried out in day-to-day life, helping you transform your life with a new flexible and reenergised mindset. In this book McGonigal uses her own story and those of others to expertly demonstrate how simple changes can result in dramatic life-affirming effects. And what’s more, she tells you how you yourself can lead a more gameful life.

Copyright (#ubf7fca3c-7337-5999-a06f-5aaa43a4b5b0)

Thorsons

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk) First published in the US by Penguin Press 2015 This edition published by Thorsons 2015 FIRST EDITION © Jane McGonigal 2015 Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015 A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Jane McGonigal asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. Find out about HarperCollins and the environment at www.harpercollins.co.uk/green (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/green) Source ISBN 9780008106331 Ebook Edition © September 2015 ISBN: 9780008106355 Version: 2015-11-13

“Don’t we all want to be better than before? If fact, we’d like to be superbetter! Jane McGonigal’s fascinating, ground-breaking approach shows how ‘living gamefully’ can help us lead happier, healthier, more engaged lives.’

GRETCHEN RUBIN, bestselling author of Better Than Before and The Happiness Project

“Hundreds of thousands of people have had their lives changed by Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter program, and I see why. It’s a marriage of positive psychology with pioneering insights from cutting-edge game design. This is a plan for profound growth in the face of whatever challenges life throws at you – and whatever ones you can throw at yourself.”

CHARLES DUHIGG, bestselling author of The Power of Habit

“Many of us struggle to overcome challenges that seem overwhelming. Jane McGonigal has taken her immense knowledge of the science of gaming to create an innovative guide that allowed her to overcome her greatest chal­lenge and now, thankfully, is available to each of us to overcome our own.”

JAMES R. DOTY, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine

“Jane McGonigal’s book is an inspiring one about overcoming personal obstacles, and a revolutionary testament that game playing is for ANYONE who wants to change their life for the better. To become stronger, braver, and happier, you have to ‘play with a purpose.’ And if you don’t know what that means, get ready ... you will.”

STACY LONDON, host of What Not to Wear and author of The Truth About Style

“Until you understand yourselves as the hero of your own story, you’ll never make a dent in the world. This insightful book shows you how to create the life of your dreams, using a gameful approach.”

NILOFER MERCHANT, CEO, Silicon Valley strategist and author of The New How

“Masterfully written and well researched, SuperBetter is literally a game-changer for anybody looking to build resilience in their lives. Though today’s rapidly evolving world can often seem overwhelming, McGonigal offers an important and timely roadmap to take back control of our own lives and focus on what really matters.”

MARC GOODMAN, author of Future Crimes and Chair for Policy, Law and Ethics at Singularity University

“After reading Jane McGonigal’s SuperBetter I’ll never again say that something is ‘only a game.’ SuperBetter gives readers the tools to take the same challenge mindset we bring to playing the games we love and apply it to facing our greatest life challenges. The result is a clear path, not just to post-traumatic recovery, but to post-traumatic growth. In every sense a game-changing book.”

SUSAN CAIN, co-founder of Quiet Revolution LLC; New York Times bestselling author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Dedication (#ubf7fca3c-7337-5999-a06f-5aaa43a4b5b0)

To Tilden and Sibley— May you grow up to be the heroes of your own stories

Contents

Cover (#u3638a5e2-4c98-5109-9568-ff584a2f0096)

Title Page (#u44f71d61-dec8-51aa-8559-b1b646e9dffe)

Copyright (#u792b06dd-e43d-5019-86dc-88de69caa68a)

Dedication

Before You Play, Here’s What You Need to Know (#u253db2f1-7ca3-5424-9a90-85346e3f1465)

Introduction (#u09fa0645-31ca-58be-9d87-9215971a7a91)

PART 1 (#u3a0065a4-c698-5518-b1ff-93a2cffee2e2)

Why Games Make Us Superbetter (#u3a0065a4-c698-5518-b1ff-93a2cffee2e2)

1. YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU KNOW (#ucdf34dc2-7ca0-57fb-b421-bc557ee44150)

2. YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY POTENTIAL ALLIES (#u6199ca1f-8f25-53ce-8db3-c16f43d6729a)

3. YOU ARE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY (#uc0dcb844-77f8-54ab-965e-694c29508619)

4. YOU CAN MAKE THE LEAP FROM GAMES TO GAMEFUL (#u37564ba0-967c-5df5-8ced-38962a10030f)

PART 2 (#litres_trial_promo)

How to Be Gameful (#litres_trial_promo)

5. CHALLENGE YOURSELF (#litres_trial_promo)

6. POWER-UPS (#litres_trial_promo)

7. BAD GUYS (#litres_trial_promo)

8. QUESTS (#litres_trial_promo)

9. ALLIES (#litres_trial_promo)

10. SECRET IDENTITY (#litres_trial_promo)

11. EPIC WINS (#litres_trial_promo)

12. KEEPING SCORE (#litres_trial_promo)

PART 3 (#litres_trial_promo)

Adventures (#litres_trial_promo)

ADVENTURE 1. LOVE CONNECTION (#litres_trial_promo)

ADVENTURE 2. NINJA BODY TRANSFORMATION (#litres_trial_promo)