Life In 19x19

This article made me think of the many posts here about the benefit (or not) of time spent playing go. An excerpt:

Instead, the weekend goal should be “eudaimonic” happiness, which is a sense of well-being that arises from meaningful, challenging activities that cause you to grow as a person. This means spending the weekend on serious leisure activities that require the regular refinement of skills: your barbershop-quartet singing, your stamp collecting, or slightly less dorky, but still equally in-depth, projects. You pursue serious leisure with the earnest tenor of a professional, even if the pursuit is amateur.p

As cheesy as it may sound, these days I have been listening to motivational talks by Tony Robbins. One of the biggest takeaways from his talks is the model he presents for human needs.

He argues that human needs come from desires in the following areas:

• Certainty
• Variety/adventure
• Significance
• Connection with other people
• Growth
• Contribution for the sake of others

Go fulfills a number of these, especially if you are improving.

1.) Obviously improvement is a form of growth, even if it's simply learning something new.
2.) If you can get a high rank, you might feel significant.
3.) When the game flow goes as you expect, you feel a sense of certainty.
4.) Unexpected moves by the opponent provide variety.
5.) Social aspects such as those found on L19 provide a means of connecting with others.
6.) Volunteering at tournaments, making interesting posts for others, etc. could constitute contribution.

Just a few ways, but an activity like Go can be satisfying in many ways from this perspective.