The past is waiting to be played out in the outcome of a game with a finite number of players. Anyone who plays towards a specific outcome wants a specific past. Finite players are competing to win a prize in the future, but they also want a prized history.
James Carse Finite & Infinite Games
In October 2020, as I walked toward a squat bar in my local LA Fitness, I spotted an old friend on the other side of the gym. We recognized each other and made eye contact. I then walked over to tell her what was up.
“Joe Stark! It’s been an hour!”
“Raines? What’s the deal? You live in Atlanta?
Joe and I met while we were playing basketball in high school for opposing schools. We hung out often in college, when I visited Athens. He was fraternity brother with many of my friends.
We found out that we were both at the same gym, and that we lived only five minutes apart. So we went to dinner that night to catch up. Joe told me he lived with five friends, in a large house in Buckhead. Their backyard had a hot tub, pool and half-court.
The dream home of a 23-year old man.
He told me, “We have 20 guys that play 3-on-3 several times a week. You should come Monday!”
You know how awful it can be to play basketball at an LA Fitness. The gym is full with 29-year-olds that are unable to pass, shoot or defend. The game is always a 1v5 dribbling contest with the occasional 25ft contested jumpshot. Every foul call leads to an argument lasting 10 minutes, punctuated with a veiled invitation to “take this outside.”
It was a great alternative to the hoop court.
I played 3 vs 3 basketball every week for the next six-months with the new crew.
This is peak life
We would play 15-point games every day, and the winners would remain on the court. The losers would wait until their turn came to play. We would then head home and come back to play the next day after the sun set.
Who was the best on the court? I don’t know. The day really made a difference.
Who was the “champion” of those six months? There was no champion. No title, no recognition.
Why did we play?
We played because we liked it. We only kept score to determine who would play the game next.
In the first chapter of Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse, he states that “there are at least two types of games: finite and endless.” The purpose of a finite game is to win, while an infinite game is to continue the play.
Basketball at Old Ivy House in Spring 2021 was an endless game. We played to continue playing.
High school basketball, on the other hand, was a game that had definite boundaries. It was certainly a fun game, but it wasn’t the point to “have fun”; the goal was to win regional and state championships. The majority of organized sports are finite, whether they’re played at high school, college or professional level. Everyone who has ever played a sport is aware that no matter how fun it was, the ultimate goal was to win a championship.
If you end up in second place, your season is incomplete. Incomplete. You failed to complete the task.
The concept of finite and endless games is not limited to sports like basketball. Life is the greatest game of all.
Have we not created a very complex scoring system?
Are you single or married? Married? Are you married? What is your occupation? What do you do for a living? What is your income? Where do you reside? How many languages do you speak?
We ask , “Who are You?”, but we really mean , “Which box have you checked?”
The sum of all your boxes is what defines you. We don’t analyze our lives this way consciously, of course. This would be so vain. We do it anyway.
Here’s an example.
This is a very broad question. Let’s be more specific. What makes a “prestigious career” prestigious?
You might say exclusivity. The exclusivity factor is important because thousands of people apply for limited positions. Those who are successful in obtaining these positions join the “in group”. Prestige is more than just exclusivity: it represents success.
To get that position, you had to beat out a lot of other candidates. You won and they lost. Your prize is the prestige that follows. I have won some prestige games over the years. For example, getting into Columbia Business School.
Prestige is an infinite game. You play prestige games to win them. What happens when you win the game? There’s that moment of dopamine-induced happiness as you reach the top of the mountain, see the horizon and shout, “I did it!” Look at me !”
What happens next?
When you return to the top, you think “Damn. It’s time to get that rush back. “I need to climb another hill.” But, here’s a thing about the next one: It has to be bigger than the last. You’ll feel disappointed when you see the taller, more impressive feats from your past.
Another finite game starts. James Carse says it best:
“The more we’re recognized as winners, we realize that we’re losers. It is very rare that the recipients of highly publicized and coveted prizes retire and accept their titles. The winners, and especially the celebrated ones, have to prove that they are winners repeatedly. The script has to be repeated. New contests are needed to defend titles. Nobody is ever rich enough, honored or applauded. The visibility of our successes only reinforces the hold of our past failures .”
James Carse Finite & Infinite Games
The problem with treating the world as a series finite games to be won is that no one wins forever.
It’s true on the biggest stages in the world. You have one week to enjoy your victory before the off-season starts again. Then you will be one of 32 teams fighting for the throne next year. The same game, new season. In this quest for finite games, the life becomes a constant challenge, a never-ending chain of competitions with no respite.
This is something we see in our careers every day. Each goal is just a step towards achieving a loftier one. I quote myself from in October:
“Get good grades to get into good colleges to get a job with good salary and get promoted to an even better job. We might attend graduate school or different training programs in order to become more attractive employees.
As we ascend the corporate ladder, the game continues. More money. More prestige. More responsibility This game is not the place for “dreams”. The logic behind each decision you make while playing the game is simple: “Will this help me progress in this game?”
Win or lose, that’s the rule in corporate Candy Land. When the sole purpose of a game is to win, the game loses its value.
It is not true that the players are alive if the prize is the life of the winner. They are in competition for their lives. The outcome of play is life, not the play itself. Players who are finite play in order to live, but they don’t live by playing. The life is a gift, possession, or a right. It is not lived.
James Carse Finite & Infinite Games
At its most extreme, the emphasis on outcomes over all else leads us to discount 99% of our life for the sake a few small, fleeting moments which might give some sense of satisfaction, before the cycle starts anew.
It seems a bit insane, but that’s how we live our lives. It’s evident in the lives of some of the most successful people who are chasing their next goal despite having millions and fame. This next accomplishment. The last achievement, which took many years to achieve, has lost its shine in a matter of minutes.
It’s evident in the FIRE movement. They cut costs and invest money to get out of the rat-race as fast as possible. Then they exit the workforce, look around and wonder , “Well, what now??”
The story of happiness is just beyond achievement. You can spend your entire life believing that story only to discover that there wasn’t any pot of gold.
Sorry for spoiling the party.
“SO WHAT JACK?” WE SHOULD EXIT THE LATE STAGE CAPITALISTIC MACHINES AND LIVE ON THE LAND IN A SORT OF NOMADIC ESSENCE THAT REJECTS THE 21ST CENTURY MATERIALISM. IF YOU LOOK AT IT, THAT IS THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION OF THIS WHOLE THING .”
Well, no. To be honest, that would also be a pretty lame life.
It’s not that I think you should hate and reject success and achievement. You shouldn’t waste your estimated 4,680 week in pursuit of a singular achievement that will likely not satisfy you even for one of those 4,680.
Shout out Tim Urban for the graphic. Here’s your life, in weeks.
Spend your 4,680 week in pursuit of what you enjoy. Accomplishments shouldn’t be your sole motivation, but rather the byproduct. Don’t let achievements define your life.
What’s the point if you don’t have fun? Let’s end with a quote from Carse.
A player infinite does not work to fill up time, but rather fill time with work… Work isn’t a means of securing a present against an uncertain future, but a way to move towards a future that has its own future.
James Carse Finite & Infinite Games
Both finite and unlimited players can achieve the same goals, but if you do the work just for the fun of it, the journey will be more enjoyable.