It’s my birthday today, and feeling nostalgic, I looked back on some of my previous birthday posts. Man, it struck me how cringe it is to say that you’ve “levelled up”.
I get that it’s a videogame analogy, but it just doesn’t work when you apply it to real life.
You level up when you do something for the one hundredth time and start getting good at doing it.
You level up when you become capable of performing feats of strength or agility with your body.
You level up when you understand something at a deeper level.
You level up when you develop ways to earn currency.
You level up when you achieve something notable.
You level up when you learn something new.
You do not level up by going with the flow.
You do not level up as a result of “time spent”.
You do not level up by doing the bare minimum.
You do not level up simply for being present in the game.
You do not level up by idling another year away, not developing yourself.
You do not level up on the anniversary of your birth, simply because you’ve survived another orbit.