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

Thorsons

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.ukFirst published in the US by Penguin Press 2015 This edition published by Thorsons 2015 FIRST EDITION © Jane McGonigal 2015 Cover layout design © HarperCollins Publishers 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/greenSource 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

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

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Before You Play, Here’s What You Need to Know

Introduction

PART 1

Why Games Make Us Superbetter

1.YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU KNOW

2.YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY POTENTIAL ALLIES

3.YOU ARE THE HERO OF YOUR OWN STORY

4.YOU CAN MAKE THE LEAP FROM GAMES TO GAMEFUL

PART 2

How to Be Gameful

5.CHALLENGE YOURSELF

6.POWER-UPS

7.BAD GUYS

8.QUESTS

9.ALLIES

10.SECRET IDENTITY

11.EPIC WINS

12.KEEPING SCORE

PART 3

Adventures

ADVENTURE 1.LOVE CONNECTION

ADVENTURE 2.NINJA BODY TRANSFORMATION

ADVENTURE 3.TIME RICH

About the Science

Notes

List of Searchable Terms

Acknowledgments

Also by Jane McGonigal

About the Publisher

Before You Play, Here’s What You Need to Know

The SuperBetter method is designed to make you stronger, happier, braver, and more resilient.

It’s based on the science of games—and there’s a lot of evidence that it works.

A randomized, controlled study conducted by the University of Pennsylvaniafound 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.

A clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Healthand 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.

Meanwhile, data collected from more than 400,000 SuperBetter playershas helped me improve the method, to make it easier to learn and more fun to use in everyday life.

Every 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 you tackle your toughest challenges, and pursue your biggest dreams, with more courage, creativity, optimism, and support.

Please remember, the SuperBetter method is not 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. 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.