{"product_id":"superbetter-isbn-9780143109778","title":"SuperBetter","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn innovative guide to living gamefully, based on the program that has already helped nearly half a million people achieve remarkable personal growth\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 2009, internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed, she became anxious and depressed, even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further, she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for “post-traumatic growth” that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today nearly half a million people have played SuperBetter to get stronger, happier, and healthier.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the life-changing ideas behind SuperBetter\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eare much bigger than just one game. In this book, McGonigal reveals a decade’s worth of scientific research into the ways all games—including videogames, sports, and puzzles—change how we respond to stress, challenge, and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a more “gameful” mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play games—such as optimism, creativity, courage, and determination—to real-world goals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on hundreds of studies, McGonigal shows that getting superbetter is as simple as tapping into the three core psychological strengths that games help you build:\u003c\/p\u003e   • \u003cb\u003eYour ability to control your attention,\u003c\/b\u003e and therefore your thoughts and feelings \u003cbr\u003e   • \u003cb\u003eYour power to turn anyone into      a potential ally,\u003c\/b\u003e and to strengthen      your existing relationships \u003cbr\u003e   • \u003cb\u003eYour natural capacity to motivate      yourself and super-charge your heroic qualities,\u003c\/b\u003e like willpower, compassion, and determination \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e contains nearly 100 playful challenges anyone can undertake in order to build these gameful strengths. It includes stories and data from people who have used the SuperBetter method to get stronger in the face of illness, injury, and other major setbacks, as well as to achieve goals like losing weight, running a marathon, and finding a new job.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs inspiring as it is down to earth, and grounded in rigorous research, \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is a proven game plan for a better life. You’ll never say that something is “just a game” again.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eKirkus:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"For those in search of a new self-help regimen, \"SuperBetter\" might just be the answer. Strong medical research and firsthand accounts provide evidence that playing games can make you a healthier, happier, more confident person.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eDaniel H. Pink, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eDrive\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Whole New Mind\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “At the heart of \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is a simple and potentially transformative idea: We can use the same psychological strengths we display when we play games to confront real-life challenges, whether it's illness, injury, or just changing our habits for the better. Grounded in research and informed by McGonigal’s own sometimes harrowing experiences, this book will make you stop and think, then get you to act.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eDaniel J. Siegel, M.D., Clinical Professor, UCLA School of Medicine and author of \u003ci\u003eMindsight\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e delivers mind-boggling, science-supported, health-promoting knowledge and practical steps to bring more well-being into your life in a fun and engaging way, even if you are facing epic challenges like anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injury, or medical illness. Visionary innovator and researcher Jane McGonigal provides the proof and the practices that reveal how living a ‘gameful’ life can help you get personally stronger, closer to others, clearer in your mind, braver in your actions, and a greater hero in your own unfolding life story. \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is a playful, hands-on manual immersing you directly in challenges and adventures of creative gaming to develop more flexibility and resilience as you transform your life.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eJennifer Senior, author of \u003ci\u003eAll Joy and No Fun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “In this dazzling manifesto, Jane McGonigal knits together state-of-the-art research, moving anecdotes, and extremely satisfying mini-challenges to show us how games—video and otherwise—hold the key to a more productive, joyous life. A game designer by training and an empath by nature, McGonigal uses every power-up at her disposal to convince her audience that the very tools we deploy in imaginary worlds can be used to overcome struggles in everyday life. The result is a candy-crushing, genre-slaying read, for which fans will surely be sending her gratitude notes for years to come.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eFelicia Day, creator of Geek and Sundry and author of \u003ci\u003eYou’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost):\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is an amazing book that fuses psychology and play in an revelatory way. With a wonderfully encouraging writing style, Jane morphs the tropes of gaming into an empowering tool set for change. \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is impeccably researched, extremely accessible, and sure to inspire gamers and non-gamers to adopt gameful techniques into their day-to-day lives. The sword of self-improvement never seemed easier to wield against the monsters lurking in one's mind!”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eRob Delaney, comedian and author of best-selling memoir \u003ci\u003eRob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You can't think your way out of a problem, but you can work your way out of a problem. \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e shows us that it's also possible, and maybe even healthier, to play your way out of a problem. Especially if you're a silly person, like me or Stephen Hawking.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eAsi Burak, President of Games for Change\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Jane McGonigal is easily one of the most innovative thinkers in gaming today. In \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e, she reveals to the world a great secret that avid game players kept for years: games are not a waste of your time; they can make you stronger, happier and more mindful. Reading this book is a compelling quest for anyone—whether you play games regularly, or you just have an open mind about them.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eAmy Cuddy, associate professor, Harvard Business School; author of \u003ci\u003ePresence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “This book is a wise and compassionate distillation of a wealth of good research about the psychology and neuroscience of resilience and social support, married to a game framework that itself comes out of rigorous new science into the psychology and neuroscience of gaming.  SuperBetter has been studied in action by the University of Pennsylvania and the National Institutes of Health, among others, and the facts are incontrovertible: following the SuperBetter rules makes people happier, more satisfied, less controlled by suffering, and stronger in their relationships with others. It really works.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eSusan Cain, co-founder of Quiet Revolution LLC and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eQuiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “After reading Jane McGonigal’s \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e I’ll never again say that something is ‘only a game.’ \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003egrowth\u003c\/i\u003e. In every sense a game-changing book.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eJack Kornfield, Buddhist teacher and bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eA Path With Heart\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Jane McGonigal shows a playful doorway to well-being and how much we can gain from training attention. This is using the art of games to grow, heal and learn.”\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCharles Duhigg, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe Power of Habit\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eGretchen Rubin, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBetter Than Before\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe Happiness Project\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “Don’t we all want to be better than before? If fact, we’d like to be \u003ci\u003esuper better\u003c\/i\u003e! Jane McGonigal’s fascinating, ground-breaking approach shows how ‘living gamefully’ can help us lead happier, healthier, more engaged lives.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eJames R. Doty, M.D., Professor of Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eNilofer Merchant, CEO, Silicon Valley strategist, and author of \u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe New How\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eStacy London, host, \u003ci\u003eWhat Not to Wear\u003c\/i\u003e; author of \u003c\/u\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cu\u003eThe Truth About Style\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “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.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cu\u003eMarc Goodman, author of \u003ci\u003eFuture Crimes\u003c\/i\u003e and Chair for Policy, Law \u0026amp; Ethics at Singularity University\u003c\/u\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Masterfully written and well researched, \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter \u003c\/i\u003eis 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. \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e is a quest well-worth going on.” | \u003cb\u003eJane McGonigal, PhD,\u003c\/b\u003e is a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future and the author of \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller \u003ci\u003eReality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World\u003c\/i\u003e. Her work has been featured in \u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWired\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e and on MTV, CNN, and NPR. She has been called one of the top ten innovators to watch (\u003ci\u003eBusinessWeek\u003c\/i\u003e), one of the one hundred most creative people in business (\u003ci\u003eFast Company\u003c\/i\u003e), and one of the fifty most important people in the gaming industry (\u003ci\u003eGame Developers Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e). Her TED talks on games have been viewed more than ten million times. | \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore You Play, Here’s What You Need to Know\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe SuperBetter method is designed to make you stronger, happier, braver, and more resilient.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt’s based on the science of games—and there’s \u003ci\u003ea lot\u003c\/i\u003e of evidence that it works.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA\u003cb\u003e randomized, controlled study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania\u003c\/b\u003e found that playing SuperBetter for thirty days significantly reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and increases optimism, social support, and players’ belief in their own ability to succeed and achieve their goals. The study also found that people who followed the SuperBetter rules for one month were significantly happier and more satisfied with their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003cb\u003eclinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health\u003c\/b\u003e and conducted at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital found that the SuperBetter method improves mood, decreases anxiety and suffering, and strengthens family relationships during rehabilitation and recovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeanwhile, \u003cb\u003edata collected from more than 400,000 SuperBetter players\u003c\/b\u003e has helped me improve the method, to make it easier to learn and more fun to use in everyday life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery single day for the past five years I’ve heard from someone who says that the SuperBetter method has changed their life. It is my greatest hope that SuperBetter will help\u003ci\u003e you\u003c\/i\u003e tackle your toughest challenges, and pursue your biggest dreams, with more courage, creativity, optimism, and support.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease remember, the SuperBetter method is \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Many successful SuperBetter players—including a majority of participants in the University of Pennsylvania study and all the participants in the clinical trial—followed the SuperBetter method alongside some form of continuing counseling, medication, or rehabilitation, or with a doctor’s supervision.\u003ci\u003e The SuperBetter method is NOT an alternative to therapy, counseling, ongoing medical treatment, or medication—nor is any game recommended or discussed in this book.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow that you know—let’s play!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou are stronger than you know.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou are surrounded by potential allies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou are the hero of your own story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese three qualities are all it takes to become happier, braver, and more resilient in the face of any challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere’s the good news: You already have these qualities within you. You don’t have to change a thing. You are \u003ci\u003ealready\u003c\/i\u003e more powerful than you realize.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have the ability to control your attention—and therefore your thoughts and feelings.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have the strength to find support in the most unexpected places, and deepen your existing relationships.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou have a natural capacity to motivate yourself and supercharge your heroic qualities, like willpower, compassion, and determination.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book will help you understand the powers you already have—and show you that accessing these powers is \u003ci\u003eas easy as playing a game\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd yet this book is not about playing games—at least, not exactly. It’s about learning \u003ci\u003ehow to be\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003egameful\u003c\/i\u003e in the face of extreme stress and personal challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeing gameful means bringing the psychological strengths you naturally display when you play games—such as optimism, creativity, courage, and determination—to your real life. It means having the curiosity and openness to play with different strategies to discover what works best. It means building up the resilience to tackle tougher and tougher challenges with greater and greater success.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe best way I know to explain what it means to be gameful—and how being gameful can make you stronger, happier, and braver—is to tell you a story. It’s the story of how I invented the SuperBetter method—and the life-threatening challenge I had to overcome to be able to write this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the summer of 2009, I hit my head and got a concussion. It didn’t heal properly, and after thirty days I still had constant headaches, nausea, and vertigo. I couldn’t read or write for more than a few minutes at a time. I had trouble remembering things. Most days I felt too sick to get out of bed. I was in a total mental fog. These symptoms left me more anxious and depressed than I had ever been in my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI had trouble communicating clearly to friends and family exactly what I was going through. I thought if I could write something down, it would help. I struggled and struggled to put together words that made sense, and this is what I came up with:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEverything is hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe iron fist is pushing against my thoughts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy whole brain feels vacuum pressurized.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf I can’t think who am I?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately, there is no real treatment for postconcussion syndrome. You just rest as much as you can and hope for the best. I was told I might not feel better for months or even a year or longer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere was one thing I could do to try to heal faster. My doctor told me I should avoid everything that triggered my symptoms. That meant no reading, no writing, no running, no video games, no work, no email, no alcohol, and no caffeine. I joked to my doctor at the time: “In other words, no reason to live.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere was quite a bit of truth in that joke. I didn’t know it then, but suicidal ideation is very common with traumatic brain injuries—even mild ones like mine.1 It happens to one in three, and it happened to me. My brain started telling me: \u003ci\u003eJane, you want to die.\u003c\/i\u003e It said, \u003ci\u003eYou’re never going to get better. The pain will never end. You’ll be a burden to your husband.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese voices became so persistent and so persuasive that I started to legitimately fear for my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd then something happened. I had one crystal-clear thought that changed everything. Thirty-four days after I hit my head—and I will never forget this moment—I said to myself, \u003ci\u003eI am either going to kill myself, or I’m going to turn this into a game.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy a game? By the time I hit my head in 2009, I’d been researching the psychology of games for nearly a decade. In fact, I was the first person in the world to earn a Ph.D. studying the psychological strengths of gamers and how those strengths can translate to real-world problem solving. I knew from my years of research at the University of California at Berkeley that when we play a game, we tackle tough challenges with more creativity, more determination, and more optimism. We’re also more likely to reach out to others for help. And I wanted to bring these gameful traits to my real-life challenge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo I created a simple recovery game called “Jane the Concussion Slayer.” This became my new \u003ci\u003esecret identity\u003c\/i\u003e, a way to start feeling heroic and determined instead of hopeless.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe first thing I did as the concussion slayer was to call my twin sister, Kelly, and tell her, “I’m playing a game to heal my brain, and I want you to play with me.” This was an easy way to ask for help. She became my first \u003ci\u003eally\u003c\/i\u003e in the game. My husband, Kiyash, joined next.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether we identified and battled the \u003ci\u003ebad guys. \u003c\/i\u003eThese were anything that could trigger my symptoms and therefore slow down the healing process—things like bright lights and crowded spaces.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe also collected and activated \u003ci\u003epower-ups. \u003c\/i\u003eThese were anything I could do on even my worst day to feel just a little bit good or happy or powerful. Some of my favorite power-ups were cuddling my Shetland sheepdog for five minutes, eating walnuts (good for my brain), and walking around the block twice with my husband.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe game was that simple: adopt a secret identity, recruit allies, battle the bad guys, and activate power-ups. But even with a game so simple, within just a couple days of starting to play, that fog of depression and anxiety went away. It just vanished. It felt like a miracle to me. It \u003ci\u003ewasn’t\u003c\/i\u003e a miracle cure for the headaches or the cognitive symptoms—they lasted more than a year, and it was the hardest year of my life by far. But even when I still had the symptoms, even while I was still in pain, \u003ci\u003eI stopped suffering\u003c\/i\u003e. I felt more in control of my own destiny. My friends and family knew exactly how to help and support me. And I started to see myself as a much stronger person.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat happened next with the game surprised me. After a few months, I put up a blog post and a short video online explaining how to play. Not everybody has a concussion, and not everyone wants to be “the slayer,” so I renamed the game \u003ci\u003eSuperBetter\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy SuperBetter? Everyone had told me to “get better soon” while I was recovering from the concussion, but I didn’t want just to get better, as in back to normal. I wanted to get \u003ci\u003esuper\u003c\/i\u003ebetter: happier and healthier than I’d been before the injury.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSoon I started hearing from people all over the world who were adopting their own secret identities, recruiting their own allies, and fighting their own bad guys. They were getting “superbetter” at facing challenges like depression and anxiety, surgery and chronic pain, migraines and Crohn’s disease, healing a broken heart and finding a job after years of unemployment. People were even playing it for extremely serious, even terminal diagnoses, like stage-five cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). And I could tell from their messages and their videos that the game was helping them in the same ways that it helped me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese players talked about feeling stronger and braver. They talked about feeling better understood by their friends and family. And they talked about feeling happier, even though they were in pain, even though they were tackling the toughest challenges of their lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the time, I thought to myself, \u003ci\u003eWhat on earth is going on here?\u003c\/i\u003e How could a game so seemingly trivial, so admittedly simple, intervene so powerfully in such serious, in some cases life-and-death, circumstances? To be frank, if it hadn’t already worked for me, there’s no way I would have believed it was possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen I was recovered enough to do research, I dove into the scientific literature. And here’s what I learned: some people get stronger and happier after a traumatic event. And that’s what was happening to us. The game was helping us experience what scientists call \u003ci\u003epost-traumatic growth, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich is not something we usually hear about. More commonly, we hear about \u003ci\u003epost-traumatic stress disorder\u003c\/i\u003e, in which individuals experience ongoing anxiety and depression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut research has shown that traumatic events don’t always lead to long-term difficulty. Instead, some individuals find that struggling with highly challenging life circumstances helps them unleash their best qualities and eventually lead happier lives.2\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo give you a better idea of what post-traumatic growth looks like, here are the top five things that people with post-traumatic growth say:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. My priorities have changed. I’m not afraid to do what makes me happy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. I feel closer to my friends and family.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. I understand myself better. I know who I really am now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. I have a new sense of meaning and purpose in my life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. I’m better able to focus on my goals and dreams.3\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaken together, these five traits represent a powerful positive transformation. But it’s more than that. There’s actually something quite astonishing about the benefits of post-traumatic growth, something I noticed in the course of my research.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA few years ago an Australian hospice worker named Bronnie Ware published an article called “Regrets of the Dying.”4 Ware would know—she had spent a decade caring for patients at the end of their lives. She wrote that the same regrets were repeated again and again by her patients, year after year—and after she published her article, she heard from hundreds of hospice workers and caretakers all over the world who confirmed her findings. They had heard the same five regrets over the years. Apparently they are nearly universal. Not everyone has regrets on their deathbed—but if they do, they are likely to be one or more of the following:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. I wish I had let myself be happier.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. I wish I’d had the courage to express my true self.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. I wish I’d lived a life true to my dreams, instead of what others expected of me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThink about this list for a moment. Are you having the same “aha!” moment that I had, two years ago, when I first encountered it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRemarkably, the top five regrets of the dying are essentially the \u003ci\u003eexact opposite\u003c\/i\u003e of the top five experiences of post-traumatic growth. With post-traumatic growth, we find the strength and courage to do the things that make us happy, and to understand and express our true selves. We prioritize relationships and meaningful work that inspires us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePost-traumatic growth is not the opposite of post-traumatic stress disorder, by the way. Many people who suffer post-traumatic stress disorder \u003ci\u003ealso \u003c\/i\u003ego on to experience post-traumatic growth. The two are not mutually exclusive by any means. In fact, one study found that symptoms of post-traumatic stress were actually predictive of eventual post-traumatic growth—possibly because transformative growth requires wrestling in a deep and sustained way with something very difficult. If we bounce back too quickly, we miss the growth.5\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExtreme personal challenge—if we respond in the right way—unlocks our ability to lead a life truer to our dreams and free of regrets. Looked at this way, post-traumatic growth—or getting superbetter—seems like a pretty strong candidate for the single most desirable personal transformation anyone could hope to undertake.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut how do you get from extreme stress or trauma to these five benefits? Research shows that not everyone who experiences a trauma goes on to have post-traumatic growth. So what exactly is the right process?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore important, is there any way to experience these benefits \u003ci\u003ewithout having a trauma\u003c\/i\u003e? I’m pretty sure no one would ever choose to suffer a terrible loss, an injury, an illness, or any other kind of trauma just to get these benefits. But at the same time, who wouldn’t want to lead a life truer to their dreams and free of regret?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd so I set off on another two years of research. And here’s what I discovered: you \u003ci\u003ecan \u003c\/i\u003eexperience the benefits of post-traumatic growth without the trauma, if you are willing to undertake an extreme challenge in your life—such as running a marathon, writing a book, starting a business, becoming a parent, quitting smoking, or making a spiritual journey. Researchers call this \u003ci\u003epost-ecstatic growth. \u003c\/i\u003eAnn Marie Roepke, a practicing clinical psychologist who first identified the phenomenon as a University of Pennsylvania doctoral candidate, describes it as “gains without pains”—or at least, far fewer pains.6 It works the same way post-traumatic growth does, except you get to choose your own challenge. Instead of waiting for life to throw a terrible trauma at you, you can cultivate post-ecstatic growth at any time by intentionally undertaking a meaningful project or mission that creates significant stress and challenge for you. This stressful adventure you’ve chosen for yourself creates the necessary conditions for you to struggle and grow as much as someone who is battling a trauma.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo if post-traumatic growth and post-ecstatic growth work the same way, what exactly is that process? What makes the difference between buckling under extreme stress and flourishing because of it? What determines whether you’ll be weakened by adversity or strengthened by it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is where the research gets really exciting—at least for a game designer like me.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt turns out that there are seven ways of thinking and acting that contribute to post-traumatic and post-ecstatic growth. \u003ci\u003eAnd they are all ways that we commonly think and act when we play games.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. Adopt a challenge mindset. \u003c\/b\u003eYou need to be willing to engage with obstacles and look at stressful life events as a challenge, not a threat. In games, we call this simply “accepting the challenge to play.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Seek out whatever makes you stronger and happier. \u003c\/b\u003eWhen you are facing a tough challenge, you need constant access to positive emotions, and you must look after your physical health. In games, we practice this rule by seeking out “power-ups,” items that make us stronger, faster, and more powerful.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eStrive for psychological flexibility. \u003c\/b\u003eBe open to negative experiences, such as pain or failure, if they help you learn or get closer to your larger goal. Be driven by courage, curiosity, and the desire to improve. In games, we follow this rule whenever we battle a tough opponent or “bad guys,” knowing we may fail many times before we become clever or skillful enough to defeat them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eTake committed action. \u003c\/b\u003eMake small steps toward your biggest goal, every single day\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e Taking committed action means trying to take a step forward, even if it is difficult for you. It means always keeping your eyes on the larger goal. In games, we have a structure to do this. It’s called a “quest,” and it helps us stay focused on making progress toward the goal that matters most to us.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eCultivate connectedness. \u003c\/b\u003eTry to find at least two people you feel you can ask for help, and who you can speak to honestly about your stress and challenges. In multiplayer games, we practice the art of making “allies”—people who understand the obstacles we’re facing and who have our back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eFind the heroic story.\u003c\/b\u003e Look at your life and find the heroic moments. Focus on the strength you’ve shown and the meaning and purpose to your struggles. In games, heroic stories abound. We often take on the “secret identity” of heroic characters as part of the journey; their stories inspire and motivate us to try harder and become better versions of ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eLearn the skill of benefit finding. \u003c\/b\u003eBe aware of good outcomes that can come even from stress or challenge. In games, we have the notion of “epic wins,” or extremely positive outcomes that can arise when you least expect them, from the most unlikely or daunting circumstances.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo wonder SuperBetter works so well for so many people! Once you understand the science, it makes perfect sense. Of course a game designer like me would create a system that taps into these naturally gameful ways of thinking and acting. I didn’t know it at the time, but SuperBetter was essentially a perfect road map to post-traumatic and post-ecstatic growth. Not because I was a genius but because I was a good game designer, and \u003ci\u003eall\u003c\/i\u003e good games train us in the seven ways of thinking and acting that help us turn extreme stress and challenge into positive transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese seven rules to live by make up the SuperBetter method, and they are the heart of this book:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Challenge yourself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Collect and activate power-ups.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Find and battle the bad guys.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Seek out and complete quests.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Recruit your allies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e6. Adopt a secret identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e7. Go for an epic win.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re already facing a tough challenge—an illness, an injury, a loss, a personal struggle—following these rules will not only help you be more successful in dealing with the challenge; you’ll also be more likely to experience the benefits of post-traumatic growth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re \u003ci\u003enot\u003c\/i\u003e facing an extremely stressful challenge at the moment, but you still want to become stronger, happier, braver, and more resilient, just pick a meaningful and challenging goal for yourself—and then follow these rules as you try to achieve it. You will have the satisfaction of\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Penguin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48338549473509,"sku":"NP9780143109778","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780143109778.jpg?v=1769572644","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/superbetter-isbn-9780143109778","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}