Theologian James Carse divides the games we play into two broad categories — finite and infinite games. A finite game is one with set rules and which has an eventual winner. An infinite game is played for the sake of continuing the game.
Last week, I played a few games of lagori with a bunch of neighborhood kids. I reckon the last time I played the game was when I was a kid. It was exhilarating. It was great exercise, yet fun at the same time. As adults, staying fit takes on a bit of a serious tone such as going to the gym, yoga or running. While I enjoy running and yoga, I also sometimes feel they lack an element of pure-play fun. The game of lagori opened up another dimension for me— adding a bit of play into my routine whenever possible.
When you’re in the midst of a game, any game, it is very tough to enjoy every moment, take all the right decisions and remain cool under fire, all at once. The most elite sportsperson's do this on a regular basis, which is why they are more successful than the rest. But even they recognize the enormity of their achievements only after they have retired when they can sit and look back at their careers with a certain amount of perspective.
In this article, Michael Jordan explains this better when he says
“At 30 I was moving so fast. I never had time to think about all the things I was encountering, all the things I was touching. Now when I go back and find these things, it triggers so many different thoughts: God, I forgot about that. That’s how fast we were moving. Now I can slow it down and hopefully remember what that meant. That’s when I know I’m getting old.”
Sportspeople are often reminded about their missteps years and even decades after they have retired.
Roberto Baggio is still asked about the fateful penalty that he missed in the 1994 World Cup finals:
Stephen Curry will rue his missed shot in the dying moments of the 2019 NBA Finals for years to come:
Misbah ul Haq will always be asked about the fateful shot he played in the 2007 T20 finals against India:
In all the above examples, the athletes did the best they could at that moment in time. They might always wonder how it would have been had they scored the goal, got the ball to go into the basket and hit the ball beyond the reach of the fielder, but none of them will regret how they played the game.
On the other hand, this is one-time Olympic star Marion Jones issuing a tearful apology where she confessed to doping:
The late Hansie Cronje, once one of the most respected captains in cricket, broke down when he realized the enormity of what his involvement with bookies and match-fixing had caused:
This is Ben Johnson’s fall from grace after his epic win in the 1988 Seoul Olympics 100m dash was found be fuelled by an illegal substance:
Ben Johnson, Hansie Cronje, and Marion Jones cheated the game, themselves, their sponsors and their fans. Not exactly a good formula to feel good about a game after you’ve played it.
Theologian James Carse divides the games we play into two broad categories — finite and infinite games. A finite game is one with set rules and which has an eventual winner. An infinite game is played for the sake of continuing the game.
All sport falls into the category of a finite game. There are rules and eventually, there is a winner. Though it doesn’t seem like it, politics in its entirety is an infinite game, unless someone decides to pull the nuclear button. A political party loses and another party comes to power.
But there is a vital difference.
While a sport is a finite game and a sportsperson’s career is limited, the way they play the game can be infinite.
This is what the great Don Bradman meant when he said ‘leave the game better than you found it.’
If an athlete inspires someone to take up the sport, better their record, grow the sport, they can say they have played an infinite game.
The exact same thing applies to all of us.
Look around you.
Some are playing a game where they are constantly keeping score and making themselves miserable over it.
Some are playing a game where they think they need to win even though they are keeping score on an arbitrary scoreboard.
Some are playing to learn, grown, explore.
And much like a sportsperson, we don’t always have the time to stop and pause to enjoy every moment. But in quiet moments, we feel it.
Is the game you’re playing tiring you, making you sick to your stomach?
Do you want to stop playing the game you’re playing and switch to a different one?
Do you need to compromise, bully, intimidate to make it seem like you’re winning the game you’re playing?
Do you wake up wanting to take another shot, or just call it quits?
Or,
Do you wake up excited, wanting to take the field?
After a day’s play, do you return home tired but happy?
Can someone take the baton from you?
These are very, very hard questions, but ones worth asking.
In his dying days, body ravaged by cancer, the great Ray Charles sat down for an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine and spoke about something he regretted. He said:
“I regret being too much in a hurry. Too impatient. Looking for everything to be perfect. Lost my head. Said some nasty shit to guys who didn’t deserve it. You know me, man. I’m always fucking with the drummers. If they don’t get my time, I pitch a bitch. Treat them bad. I feel like I hurt people. I know I hurt people. Well, tell them I’m not an asshole. Tell them I have feelings, too. I can feel their feelings, man. Tell them I appreciate them. Tell them…just tell them Brother Ray loves them.”
The good news is this — in life, you can either change the game you’re playing, or change the way you’re playing the game to feel better at the end of a day’s play.
Eventually, the days all add up.
Hat tip:
