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I think playing Chess as kid did wonders for me in life and as an adult. Speaking only for myself, I am a competitive person and generally play to win any boar
by lefstathiou 6y ago
I think playing Chess as kid did wonders for me in life and as an adult.
Speaking only for myself, I am a competitive person and generally play to win any board game (as opposed to say golf which I suck at and play for pure leisure)
A couple notable things Chess did for me:
1) taught me to think about multi-layered cause and effect (something I use daily in my life as a manager) - ie how to create and execute a strategy
2) boosted my Confidence in making a decision and owning the outcome (something I believe a lot of people struggle with).
3) Taught me to be aware of my state of mind. I lost countless games I “should not have” for endless reasons I felt were preventable. Today I am hyper aware of my state of mind and will deploy fixes to get me to a better state depending on the issue (need more rest, stop the distractions, white board it out)
4) inspired me. Nothing like playing against a great player and seeing the beauty of a strategy unfold all the while your pieces and strategy slowly disintegrate into a blazing flame of glory. I saw the possibilities of what I could accomplish with study and practice
5) I could add a lot to this list...
Now did any of the above improve my GPA or SAT scores? Not directly but I do think it’s undoubtedly helped my career. No question in my mind that I am teaching my son chess just like my father did for me.
- jooize 6y ago> white board it out What is that?
- trhaynes 6y agoDraw on a whiteboard
- lefstathiou 6y agoFlush out the idea and strategy on a whiteboard (typically because I could not map it all out / maintain the complexity in my mind).
- pmoriarty 6y agoOne of the most valuable things chess can teach is patience.
- econcon 6y agoChess came from India where it was used by the ruling class to learn important skill like emotional management. As the rulers had all power, it was incredibly very easy for them to get mad at someone and engage in destructive activities. Chess helped the new princes learn emotional management and act better when met with situation like, strategy failing, loss of your resources etc... Later the game was brought to middle East by Arab traders from where it went to Europe and new world.
- jagannathtech 6y agoNew princes in India went to ashrams to learn all these things or have dedicated gurus.
- perfmode 6y agothank you so much for this piece of history