My Passion in Video Games

The picture above is just a small fraction of the number of video games I own, and I can’t really justify my obsession with them 😅. The point I want to emphasize is how important video games are in my life.

I wouldn’t say I grew up in a poor family, not at all - but my family’s resources were quite limited during my first 20 years living in Hong Kong. Five of us lived in a 100-square-foot apartment until I was about 10 years old, after which we moved to a larger 300-square-foot public housing unit. I’m not trying to portray my past as difficult; in fact, it’s the opposite. I am grateful for my parents’ hard work to provide for me and my two younger brothers, ensuring we had everything we needed. While we may not have had all the luxuries, I never felt limited in what I could do because of cost. If I showed interest in something, my parents were willing to spend money on it.

That being said, I certainly couldn’t have whatever I wanted, including video games. I often had to make careful decisions about which games to buy and find more affordable ways to get them without asking my parents too often. I think that’s why I treated all my video games with such care, enjoying them much more, as new releases weren’t as frequent.

I still remember going to my friend’s house with my brother, playing NBA 2K and Resident Evil games, and having so much fun. Maybe because of that, I’ve continued to keep this hobby close to my heart, even after moving to the United States. Now that I’m an adult with a job, I can afford to buy the games I’m interested in and spend my money the way I see fit.

The sad thing is that when you finally have the ability to buy whatever games you want, you often don’t have the time or energy to play them for hours, unlike when you were a kid. I’ve become more of a game collector than a player, for the most part. But that’s okay. Looking at my shelf filled with games gives me a sense of accomplishment, and a small sense of relief that, someday - though I’m not sure when - I’ll get around to completing and beating them all.

I’m sure this is a common experience for many of us. If it’s not about video games, it’s something else. These days, my strategy is to play just 30 minutes of video games each day - no pressure, no stress. The key is to not put too much pressure on yourself. After all, the purpose of playing video games is simply to have fun, and I shouldn’t forget that!

Final Thoughts

To expand on the concept of playing video games in small sessions every day, doing anything meaningful in your life requires consistency. We all need to commit to these actions on a daily basis, even if it’s just for 5 minutes a day, as long as it becomes frictionless in your routine. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you break your streak - it’s normal, as we’re all human. As long as you’re aware of it and continue on track, tasks that once felt like chores will become part of your habits and will pay off in the long run. That’s one of the key lessons I’ve learned from the limited number of self-help books I’ve read over the years!