The ideas below are simply a reflection of my direct experience applying the wisdom of many great teachers to my life. They are not my prescriptions on how others should live their life. I share these thoughts and experiences not to gloat or cast judgment, but rather to feel the joy of creatively expressing myself and to potentially help others on a similar journey.
The first time I encountered the concept of The Infinite Game was after interviewing Shopify’s GM of revenue Loren Padelford for Troops Built By Humans podcast.
I haven’t actually read the book by Simon Sinek, but my understanding is that the gist is basically the goal of the game is to perpetuate playing vs. achieve some finite “win” moment.
Finite games are defined as known players, fixed rules, and an agreed-upon objective. An infinite game is defined as known and unknown players, the rules are changeable, and the objective is not to win—the objective is to keep playing, keep perpetuating the game. - Simon Sinek
Applying this to your own life means allocating your time and energy to things you are insatiably interested in vs. finite pursuits like working till your net worth is 10 million dollars or something.
By aligning the core activities of your life with things you never get tired of, a level of engagement and fun emerges that renders a predominant state of positive emotions and meaning.
I like this idea.
It overlaps a lot with the notion I mentioned in Becoming No One to commit your time to things that don’t feel like work.
When I reflect on my own experience, the process of Consciousness Evolution seems like the ultimate infinite game.
Let me explain.
Beliefs For Consciousness Evolution To Be A Compelling Infinite Game
If you think the goal of pursuing the expansion of consciousness is to become enlightened and then there’s nothing else, that by definition is not an infinite game.
Or if you think that the pursuit of spiritual progression is about going to church for an hour on Sundays or the occasional meditation session, then you probably wouldn't consider consciousness expansion to be a compelling game.
As discussed in my post on Surrender, I believe consciousness has an innate desire to experience itself, understand its true nature, and expand to infinity.
This is why throughout history, man (consciousness) has grappled with the nature of its existence. Why are we here? Where did we come from? What is the meaning of all of this?
There is a core desire to answer these questions and eventually embark on a journey of self discovery.
The more one discovers, the more one wants to keep understanding and growing.
What is unclear to many of us, is what happens when we die? There are all kinds of beliefs that can be found in the bible or Tibetan book of the dead or any tradition.
If you believe in the idea that you are an experiencer (consciousness), that happens to be in a body in this moment vs. the body itself, you can entertain the idea that the experiencer persists when it no longer has a body. The only thing that changes when you ‘die” is the form it experiences from.
If this happens, is there any end? Or merely additional different experiences on an infinite continuum? In this view, you never lose the ability to experience or “die”. You just leave the body and take on different forms for eternity.
This is my current life view vs. one that emphasizes finality when you leave the body.
My belief in this hypothesis is mostly due to a combination of corroborating deep spiritual experiences and faith in great teachers who’ve come before me where there is a strong resonance with their teachings.
This view or one like it, really empowers one to view the pursuit of expanding consciousness as an infinite game.