Realizing that we have the agency to shape our own metagame through our internal narrative means we can gain a sense of agency in situations that don’t appear to give us any. Imagine a person in a windowless aluminum room for two years. If we are put there against our will, it feels like cruel punishment. However, if we know we are on a voyage to Mars, we might be willing to deal with that situation and perceive ourselves as heroes.
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- [note::Didn't know there was a term for this concept ("Metagame"). I think this is a powerful tool for fostering motivation in undesirably scenarios, but in certain scenarios or states of mind, it can be extremely difficult to "play the metagame."
The concept seems closely related to David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" i.e. "considering alternative realities"]

Realizing that we have the agency to shape our own metagame through our internal narrative means we can gain a sense of agency in situations that don’t appear to give us any. Imagine a person in a windowless aluminum room for two years. If we are put there against our will, it feels like cruel punishment. However, if we know we are on a voyage to Mars, we might be willing to deal with that situation and perceive ourselves as heroes.
- No location available
-
- [note::Didn't know there was a term for this concept ("Metagame"). I think this is a powerful tool for fostering motivation in undesirably scenarios, but in certain scenarios or states of mind, it can be extremely difficult to "play the metagame."
The concept seems closely related to David Foster Wallace's "This is Water" i.e. "considering alternative realities"]