Gaming & Patience



For the past year and a half, I've been playing World of Tanks Blitz. Battle 7 vs 7 online in a wide range of tanks, with a variety of skill levels too. There's a lot I've learnt from playing this.

First and foremost is patience. It is absolutely essential in this game. In fact, there are three types of patience here: waiting instead of rushing, accepting what is past and focusing on what's next, and dealing with pressure from insolent people. 

Often players often want to push forward as fast as possible or try to take risky shots which end up killing them instead. However, the best players play very conservatively, only plunging in after a ton of waiting and/or moving and maximizing their chances of winning. While I'm no master, I also learnt to wait for the right opportunity and do the boring yet necessary preparations.

The second type of patience comes into play when the stupidity of my team or perhaps even luck costs the game. I had to learn how to accept the situation and think of my next steps, rather than raging at the past and others. 

And of course, online gaming often tests your cool with motor-mouthed players, who would rather spend all day insulting and blaming. Considering this usually happens when my team is losing, there is little chance to shut them up with a win or amazing play, so I learnt how to just not say anything or reply with grace.

These in-game situations happen quite often in the real world too. Whether it's applying for your dream job without the needed prep, raging at a teammate for an honest mistake, or overreacting to a slight insult, we could all use more patience in our daily lives. Admittedly, you don't need to play World of Tanks or any other game to learn this.

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