Goal setting lessons with Candy Crush

The truth: Candy Crush is EVIL! It is a time sucker. It draws you in with these cute little candies and easy levels, and quickly progresses into what is a very hard game. Some of these levels are downright impossible, right? And then, when you finally pass it and think you see the end, you find more levels. Over 300 to be exact! And some you will spend days on. Yes, days!

That said, Candy Crush has a great life lesson in it.

When you start a level, you are given a goal. If you are like me, you start the level without reading the goal, and start clicking, wasting your turns. You are experimenting to see what will happen. It's that whole whole cause and effect thing you learn in elementary school science. However, it leads to total failure.

 

FAILED? You failed!  

It even has a broken heart to show you the
pain and agony of not reaching your goal.

 

You may be clicking with a goal to remove all the jelly when instead you should be working on bringing down the ingredients. After a few failures, you actually read the goal and begin to focus. (Some of you may actually read the instructions first and skip that part. But for those of you who would rather jump right in, don't feel too bad, just know you may need to back peddle.)

Once you are aware of your goal, you work harder. Look above, it says "Try Again!" not "You suck, better quit." It cheers you on! 

During the journey, you also have the opportunity to get help. You can buy boosters (which are not unlike going to conferences or getting training). And at some levels, you are forced to ask your friends for help (not unlike real life where you get stuck and need someone to assist or mentor you).

You learn from your mistakes and begin to see what works, and what doesn't. Then right when you are about to give up and say, "It's not worth it,"

Congrats! You did it! Mission accomplished! Maybe it's a finished manuscript. Or your first sub to an editor. Or your request for a full. Whatever it is, instead of turning off the game and being done (hey you hit your goal) --

               --it gives you a new level with a new goal! A new goal? Yes, there is more work to be done!

So in review, how Candy Crush is like real life:

• You have a goal, though you may not really know what your goal is.
• You start to work towards that goal and fail.
• You identify that goal, and learn from your mistakes, causing you to work harder.
• You share that goal, so someone can cheer you on when you fail and remind you "you don't totally suck."
• It is OK to ask for you help.
• You reach that goal.
• Once the goal is reached, it is time to set a new goal and start the whole cycle again.

You will succeed and get your candy star! But don't quit there, remember to keep moving up the levels!

And if you need a break, play at your own risk.