“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead”
If we look at life as a game , then everything we do can be considered either as a game with an end , or a game that goes on forever. Games with an end are finite games. We play these games to win. Games that go on forever are infinite games. We play these games to find out how long we can go down the rabbit hole , the goal is to keep the game going forever. School is finite , learning is infinite. Your current job is finite , your career is infinite. Debating is a finite game , there is a clear winner and loser . Language is an infinite game, the game continues.
Finite games are played to display wealth and status, and to gain recognition. People who play finite games are focused on past accomplishments. People who play finite games in front of an audience or society , are trying to desperately prove that they are not losers. Infinite games look to the future and people who play infinite games are only focused on constantly improving. Infinite players have nothing to prove to anyone except themselves. Finite players play within boundaries , infinite players play with boundaries , pushing them outwards trying to find how far they can go. The vision of an infinite player cuts through boundaries to a limitless world. Finite players look at the goal, infinite players look at the horizon , set it as their North star. Finite players train for rules , infinite players adapt for unknowns. Finite players avoid surprises , infinite players expect surprises and pursue it !
Don’t play games to end them and win , don’t play a game because others want you to. Play games that you want to play forever, games that you would play just for the fun of it. When you play a finite game , it is easy to agree to certain rules and then pick a winner. When you play an infinite game , you never stop to declare a winner , you just play it further. You also are free of rules , you can proceed any way you want. If you are playing a game that you don’t care about playing , you don’t have to play it. Finite games cannot be played alone , you have to play against someone. Infinite games are played alone , it’s you versus yourself.
Finite play implies self limitations. When infinite players play finite games ,they don’t play it with seriousness or to win . They play it for fun. Finite players look at the boundaries, infinite players look at the horizon. You cannot reach the horizon , you can only stretch what it means to you. It is learning to start something you cannot finish , and something you never intend to. Every move an infinite player makes is towards the horizon. Every move a finite player makes is within a boundary. There is an outside to every finite game.
Finite play also occurs within a time frame. Time is a diminishing quantity. For the finite player, freedom is a function of time. We must have time to be free. The infinite player does not consume time but generates it. It is time lived and not time worked. Infinite players are not serious actors in any story, but the joyful poets of a story that continues to originate what they cannot finish. Play the infinite game !