Have you ever heard of those companies that had huge success before going bankrupt? Or leaders and creators that were at the top of their game before disappearing from the news completely? According to a book called Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse, this can be explained by looking at life’s ‘games’ in this way, as either finite or infinite.
Endgames: Winners and Losers
Finite games are games in which there are rules and opponents, and the end points are externally defined. Finite games have winners and losers. Examples of such games are sports competitions, elections, and wars. Take football, for example. To win, you need to score more goals than your opponent within 90 minutes, following the rules. This is the ultimate finite game.
Endless Games: For the Sake of Play
Infinite games, on the other hand, are games without a beginning or an end. They have no time limits, and their players and rules are subject to change. They don’t have winners. Examples of such games include business, career and life. Finite games are played in order to win, while infinite games are played for the sake of the game itself. If you are running a strong business, the fact that the company has gained a high turnover in recent years does not mean that you ‘won’ the game of business. The rules can change, you can lose employees, the market can fluctuate, or you can fall behind the competition.
The Game of Life: Staying the Course
Let’s take a look at the world since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. You may have noticed how the rules changed. The way we work has changed a lot. Here at Cambly, we’ve seen a big shift in our industry, with offline English courses talking a big hit. Online platforms like Cambly, however, have been able to continue online education and we haven’t been hit as hard as other language skills providers. We were lucky in this regard.
But we don’t have the ability to anticipate events like this in order to protect ourselves from possible risk. We need to learn how to adapt to an ever-changing world and keep improving.
As another example, take your career. If you don’t achieve what you want in your profession, this doesn’t mean that all is lost. You can gain new knowledge and skills and position yourself differently. The world of work is always changing. Life itself is an infinite game. One of the best ways to adapt in an ever-changing world is to learn English.
Learn English and Futureproof Yourself
More than half of the information on the internet is in English. Additionally, fluency in English is essential to be able to work around the world or run an international business. Improving your level of English means that you will be better able to cope with the game called life. Cambly gives you the opportunity to learn how to start speaking English easily without even leaving your home. You can also gain useful experience of talking to other people in English about what you’re already doing or where you want to go in life.
“Enjoy the game. Chase your dreams because dreams do come true.”
—Sachin Tendulkar
Make your next move and sign up to Cambly today!
