Things I learned from Solitaire

When struggling to find meaning in meaningless things—or when trying to procrastinate from doing things you’re afraid to tackle--one sometimes wanders into the good old modern American pastime of computer Solitaire.  If you’re like me, you feel incredibly guilty, even as you sit like an addict, playing “just one more game” because you just know that this time, you’ll get it right, the cards will come crashing to bits (on the computer, that is!) and you’ll feel some sense of justification having allowed far too much time to go by that you could have been “productive.”  It is then, and only then, that you stumble away from the computer like a drunken sailor, dazed by the endless flashes of cards and the even more endless range of choices made semi-rapid fire.  A diversion has attempted to become therapy, but ultimately, it has been just a guilty distraction.

Under these circumstances, I tell myself that the game is actually both a training and a discipline and that I do strengthen and teach myself through constant practice.  If that which does not kill us makes us stronger, then multiple games of Solitaire (logically) will teach many life lessons that will be useful later on.  Here, then, is a list of things I learned from far too many games of Solitaire.

 

1. There are no foolproof strategies.
2. Even the best choices don't necessarily end in a win.
3. Cheating at Solitaire feels very unsatisfying—because every player at the table knows you did it, so you didn’t really get away with anything!
4. It helps to observe everything and to take every opportunity that comes along--you never know where it will lead.
5. You can't always predict what's coming next, so best to play the hand you're dealt as best you can.
6. Eventually, you will win one, so you have to remain patient.
7. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of possibilities in order to get to the right one--it's not a waste, it's the process of discovery.
8. Sometimes it is better to go with your gut and just keep the momentum going versus trying to get it right.
9. Celebrate the surprises, and don't leave before the celebration is done.
10. Losing is just one more experience to strengthen you, because you do survive it.
11. Sometimes it takes only one card to change the tide.
12. Sometimes, the healthiest thing you can do is walk away.
13. Winning feels good, so enjoy it, knowing full well that you will be starting all over again in just a few moments.