Hamster wheel

I've heard a theory about how happiness is much like running on a hamster wheel, if you aren't pursuing it you get nowhere but if you do pursue it you need to have more to stay in the same spot. the analogy isn't quite right but the idea strikes me in the right spot for me to repeat it.

I have to admit though that much of the work that I put into doing things doesn't seem to have a payoff, inasmuch as I don't feel like I've really gotten better, pushed through a barrier or had the experience that is common in games known as leveling up.

The reason I bring this up is that I think that games have tapped into the reward/hamster wheel experience in a way that hasn't ever been matched. If you play a game the hours of work that you put into a character never decay there is no leveling down. Whereas in the real world I can't run until I'm in great shape and then call it quits. I would then have to work to maintain it. Games don't require that.

Anyway I think I'll abandon games after my brother moves out, cause I know that there is so much else I can put my time into. and we won't be sharing experiences quite as much as we do. The topics from games are better than the weather and can keep a person sedated for hours without the need for babysitting them. And it just feels weird to do situps in a room while someone watches you.