PENGUIN

Product Description

An innovative guide to living gamefully based on the program that has already helped nearly half a million people achieve remarkable personal growth

In 2009 internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed she became anxious and depressed even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further she decided to get better by doing what she does best: she turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for post-traumatic growth that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today nearly half a million people have played SuperBetter to get stronger happier and healthier.

But the life-changing ideas behind SuperBetter are much bigger than just one game. In this book McGonigal reveals a decades worth of scientific research into the ways all gamesincluding videogames?? sports?? and puzzles?change how we respond to stress?? challenge?? and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a more ??gameful?? mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play games?such as optimism?? creativity?? courage?? and determination?to real-world goals.

Drawing on hundreds of studies?? McGonigal shows that getting superbetter is as simple as tapping into the three core psychological strengths that games help you build:

?????Your ability to control your attention?? and therefore your thoughts and feelings
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