Let’s face it, playing games can be a pretty fun way to spend time. They help us relax and forget about problems, and in certain cases, they motivate us to use logical and creative thinking, both of which are beneficial in life. So why not continue to play then?
Well, playing games in itself is not wrong. But if you’ve come over to this article, chances are, you play a bit more than you’d like to, and it’s preventing you from getting anything done. This problem is especially common today when quality games are not only found on computers and video games consoles, but also on our smartphones, which are with us practically wherever we go.
We can argue all day about which games should be played and which shouldn’t, but that really doesn’t make a difference for avid gamers. For them, the problem is about wasting time and not being able to get shit done, pardon my French.
Below you will find the 6 rules of how to stop playing video games and have more time for things that you truly care about, such as your personal goals, family, education, career and other.
1. Understand why you play games
If you want to really understand how to stop playing video games, you must first understand why is it that you or the one that you are trying to help plays so much.
It is because you’ve been playing your whole life and it’s become a habit? Is it because you are stressed out and have problems you’d like to avoid? Or is it because you are bored and don’t really know what else to do? Either way, an honest answer will do a lot for you. It will help you understand from which angle to approach this issue. Your transformation starts from here.
2. It’s taking your life away
Whether you play a lot or all the time, you can look at your problem as an addiction. It may be different from drug or alcohol addiction in the way it affects your health, but it’s still an addiction in the sense that you are trying to escape from life. Normal day-to-day life is too boring for you.
Being anti-social, not being able to find new friends, a life partner or a job – are just a few of the things that gamers often suffer from. And even if it’s not the case for you at the moment, by constantly playing video games you are inevitably risking to fall into that category of people. I know because I have been that way myself.
If you want to find out how to stop playing video games, then think of all the things you are missing out on in life. So many beautiful experiences, traveling, new and incredible people around you, big accomplishments and future success can all be lost if you do not stop playing video games, especially if you are spending a ton of money on them.
If it’s your kids that have the problem, it’s no different. You need to also tell them of all the things they are potentially missing out on. Make the idea of not playing games sound sexy. If you don’t know how to approach them with this kind of talk, then I highly recommend that you read this book: “How To Win Friends and Influence People”.
3. Realize the true nature of the game industry
It’s also worth mentioning that if you want to learn how to stop playing video games, just look at how the game industry is using people today.
When I was young, I wasted a ton of time on games, such as Counter-Strike 1.6, CS Source, Warcraft III, Diablo 2, Red Alert 1 and 2, Empire Earth, Mafia and a bunch of PS games, just to name a few. However, back then, you would buy the game once and that would be it. It was yours. You didn’t need to make any additional payments.
If you look at the game industry today, it’s become a lot about getting you hooked on a game so that as much money could be sucked out of you as possible. It’s become beyond ridiculous. In some cases, you are asked to pay for games on a monthly basis. In certain mobile phone games, you need to pay for in-game credit points to be able to continue playing those games.
Worst of all, though, are the so-called loot boxes that you can buy in the game that usually don’t add any value to the gameplay itself. B-e-y-o-n-d ridiculous. Somehow it all reminds me of the tobacco industry while it was still cool to smoke. No wonder video game loot boxes have already been banned in Belgium based on their gambling laws.
4. Motivation to stop
If you are a gamer at heart, and you want to stop, you will need to find something meaningful to replace your habit/addiction with.
It’s a fact that any habit is much harder to kick if you don’t have something to go in its place. Imagine that you have been wasting all this time on games, and now all of a sudden it’s free. You can’t just sit there bored, doing nothing. It doesn’t work this way. You need to keep moving forward and doing something else.
Think of something that you’ve been interested in, but couldn’t do because you played all the time. Maybe you wanted to start playing real football, maybe you wanted to learn a new language, or maybe you wanted to travel the world. Now is the time. Turn your gaming console off and think of what you can do with your life. Options are endless.
5. Create a plan of action
The fifth rule of how to stop playing video games requires you to sit down and make a plan of action. You need to think of how you are going to proceed with your life.
You need to consider how many hours a week you will allow yourself to play, if any. What hobbies will you take on? What goals do you want to accomplish by the end of each day, the week, month, half a year, etc. Goal-setting is extremely important, as it will allow you stay focused and have your mind off games.
It may sound like a lot of work to create a plan of action, but if you decided to stop playing video games and make positive changes in life, then you must take this part seriously. Simply not playing is not enough, just as not drinking alcohol or not gambling in itself is not enough. These things, unfortunately, don’t leave the mind easily, which is why you need to be strict with yourself and have that plan of action.
Be creative, be active, and you won’t even think about playing games.
6. Be in full control of your life
The last but not least, if you want to learn how to stop playing video games, you must be in full control of your life.
You can stop playing games completely, but you don’t have to. If you don’t want to go “cold turkey” with it, you can limit your time with them. This is perfectly fine too, as long as you really limit yourself, and not just cut 1 hour off a week.
Being in full control of your life and taking responsibility for your actions means not giving up. It means that you understand why you need to stop playing and what you are going to do instead. It also means that you won’t fall right back into it after having been game-free for a month. This is not about quitting gaming partially or for a while, but forever.
If gaming is something you are having a hard time letting go of, then trust me, you don’t want to do it twice. Fortunately, if you have your motivation and a reason to not play any longer, the change should be quite easy to achieve.
Personally, to get out of gaming, I realized that the world has a lot more to offer. There are places to see, people to meet, and dreams to fulfill. With this thought in mind, I stopped playing video games and haven’t really returned to them since.
Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed these 6 rules on how to stop playing video games. If you have something to add, feel free to do so in the comment section below.
Thank you for stopping by and good luck!
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