Thank you, Huilan.  That was inspiring.

• Sometimes you gotta get burned before you stop putting your hand in the fire.

• “Shoulda, woulda, coulda” is for dreamers.  Action is for winners.

• Worrying is unnecessary.  Instead, be prepared.

• A messy environment begets a messy mind.

• Pride is an inhibitor of happiness.  Be gracious in your losses and humble in your victories.

• Just because everyone else is doing it, does not make it the smart thing to do.

I hope it helps.

• A healthy respect for the self.

• A sense of purpose. (the present)

• Something positive to look forward to. (the future)

• Gratitude for everything you have, had, and are going to have.

It’s not much of a list at the moment.  I hope to add to it in the future.

While a healthy appreciation for your past experiences may be beneficial, I don’t feel that it’s an essential prerequisite for happiness.  For example, if you’ve had a less than fortunate upbringing, you may prevail, not because of it, but in spite of it.

On a related note, I believe the following inhibit your joy:

• Viewing life as a competition.

Feeling down?  My best advice to you is exercise.  There’s plenty documented benefits to exercise, including the release of endorphins.  I always feel most optimistic and creative after a session of exercise.  To quote self-help guru, Tony Robbins:

Emotion comes from motion.

Look at it this way: Death = stillness; Life = motion.  If you want to feel alive, move!

Posted in Life, MKism Tagged: exercise, future, gratittude, happiness, present, self-improvement, Tony Robbins ]]> http://mkworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/mkism-keys-to-happiness/feed/ 4 mk http://mkworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/mkism-keys-to-success/ http://mkworld.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/mkism-keys-to-success/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 14:32:20 +0000 mk http://mkworld.wordpress.com/?p=105 ]]> Exercise definitely jump-starts my brain.  I just took my post-workout shower, and I came up with this:

The 3 things you need to succeed at anything:

1. A desire/goal
2. A plan
3. A commitment

That’s it.

Update (04/15): I just watched a video, in which the speaker concluded that you can do anything with “inspiration, vision, and determination.” I quickly jotted it down, as it spoke to me on some level. Then I realized it was another way of wording my “3 Keys to Success.”

About MKisms:

A “MKism” is a brief, original “pearl of widsom” created by yours truly (and named likewise), which may or may not be similar to advice found elsewhere.  They could range from the simple to the (hopefully) profound.  I’m starting this “MKism” series, not from a place of self-importance, but from a place of sharing.  After all, we’re all we have in this world.  These are simply my humble opinions.

Feel free to challenge or contribute to my thoughts.

04.1

I dug deep through the contents of the top drawer, and the journey was a dizzying spiral into the days of yesteryear.  I met the most ancient relics of my youth, notable of which were several “Clifford the Big Red Dog” pencil tops.  I used to love Clifford, especially how his name followed with not one, but three adjectives.  (Isn’t “dog” a descriptor in this context?)

There’s no doubt a part of me that resists digging into such tombs, for fear of the torrential downpour of memories, and with it, forgotten dreams, lost hope, and perhaps regret.  I find that reflecting upon the past is always a humbling experience.

The most potent find of the excavation were the personal letters I’ve received throughout the years.  They were quite touching, abundantly imbued with love and appreciation, painting a rose-colored past.

I felt saddened by the display, wishing I’d enjoy every moment and every person even just a little bit more, wanting to reciprocate the favor that was expressed within those letters.  I regret ever ceasing communication and interaction with any and all I’ve been fortunate to know and befriend.  “The good ol’ days” beset me with a feeling of homesickness.  You can never go home again.

I came to a realization: No matter how insignificant and irrelevant you may feel at any time, you matter more than you could ever know.

I don’t know what else to say.

When you’re going to wage an organizational war, you’re going to need some arsenal.  And the simpler, the better.  No need for fancy gadgets.  Go to your local office supply store and pick up some of these unexceptional yet invaluable items for the work and home:

Essentials

• pen
• post-it notes
• binder clips (Makes paper clips obsolete.)
• scotch tape
• rubber bands
• ziplock bags
• envelopes (6.75″ & 10″)

Honorable Mentions

• double-sided tape
• push pins
• stapler

What you do with them is not clearly defined, but that is why they work so well.  They can be used for any number of organizational needs. Keep an open eye and an open mind, and you’ll start using these items for everything.

I think we look at the past through rose-colored glasses and surmise that the present could never compare, regardless of how untrue it may be.

But the way things happened was the only way it could’ve happened.

You have to accept all your past experiences and every decision you ever made as the singular path that made you into the person you are today. It gave you strength where there was once weakness, knowledge where there was once ignorance. You can’t escape your past, but you can embrace it. You are better for the mistakes you’ve made or the missteps you’ve taken.

You just have to ask yourself what’s important to you, what you want in life, and the path you will take to get it.

So what is snaking?

Throughout the Mario Kart series, players who were able to successfully skid around corners would receive a small boost of speed. This is known as powersliding (or drifting). Powersliding is meant to reward players who could skillfully turn corners sharply. However, some players use this game mechanic to their advantage by skidding left and right in a weaving motion while on straightaways, “tricking” the game into thinking they’re performing turns, and, as a result, receive more speed boosts than what was ever intended. Within the gaming community, this technique has become known as “snaking” (because the weaving motion is reminiscent of a snake’s slithering crawl). Here is a video tutorial on snaking:

Some may see snaking as cheating. Although I do sympathize with that notion, I do not consider snaking to be a form of cheating. Snaking, whether intentional or not, is in fact programmed into the game and thus should be available to a player if he or she wishes to take advantage of it. These players didn’t go out of their way to hack the game, and I do not consider it to be a bug or glitch; just an oversight on the game designers’ part.

I do, however, consider it such a cheap technique that it comes close to cheating, as it confines whatever complexity Mario Kart had to a single skill: how much pain your thumb can endure while keeping rhythm. But what is considered cheap is a matter of opinion.

For example, in the Soul Calibur fighting game series, I like to use Nightmare, a character with massive strength and a huge sword with a long reach and a powerful swing. Some players have claimed that I was being a cheap player for using Nightmare. But even so, the fact is I was not cheating in any way. I was playing within the realm of what was intentionally designed. Each character has their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and I happened to rely on Nightmare’s strengths. With that said, Nightmare has weaknesses as well: he’s very slow and makes for a big target at close range. Take a lightning-fast close-range fighter like Maxi or a swift long-range character like Kilik, and you’ll destroy my Nightmare. Thus, if one were to claim that I was being cheap, that’s fine; it’s a matter of opinion. But since Nightmare is in no way invincible, I consider the claim to be hollow and unsubstantial. No matter how cheap something is, there will always be a counter.

But see, this is where Mario Kart’s snaking crosses the line. It is a game exploit because it was not intended to be a game mechanic, and powersliding was definitely not intended to be used in such a way. Anyone who plays online with Mario Kart DS will immediately discover that players are divided into two groups: snakers and non-snakers. Snakers dominate each race every time because it’s possible to snake your way from start to finish receiving small bursts of speed the entire time. And, unlike Soul Calibur’s Nightmare, there is no counter. The only viable strategy against a snaker is to become one yourself.

Snaking is a game breaking exploit. Take my word for it, snaking is not fun. Being forced to snake is not fun. Snaking is not what Mario Kart is supposed to be about. Mario Kart is supposed to be fun, pitting players against each other to test an amalgamation of skills with a bit of randomness thrown in. A round of Mario Kart should be won because of a player’s skill within clearly defined rules and not because of a player’s ability to exploit game design oversights.

Browsing through the Kotaku article’s comments, I see I’m not alone in my views.

Revenge_of_Nekojin: “I knew as soon as I saw this topic that it would have one of two people commenting in it: People that are glad snaking is gone because it made online play generally pointless, and people who are mad snaking is gone because they won’t be able to win against more skilled drivers now. Snaking was an exploit, pure and simple. It was never intended that you should [be able to] snake the entire way around a course, that’s just stupid. The only people who speak up for snaking are people who used it to win and feel superior, just like the only people who care about wave dashing being absent in [Super Smash Bros. Brawl] were people that used it to win and feel superior. I don’t capitalize [on] wave dashing because it wasn’t even a part of the game that was supposed to be there, it’s not a real, official move.

In any case, I’m glad snaking is gone. I could do it fairly well, but I still disliked playing [Mario Kart DS] due to the fact that because every single race was a snake to the finish, it didn’t even feel like Mario Kart anymore. This should make online play much more palatable.”

Lightguy: “Being able to snake does not make a player skilled, quite the opposite, it merely meant that they had the endurance to perform a move that was very difficult to pull off something never intended to be in the game to gain an unfair advantage. A skilled player would have been able to win without resorting to such cheap tactics, and it’s removal will make the game, if anything, more competitive, due to players actually having to have some ability to race.

The majority of people say it’s “not fun” because they don’t want to have to break their thumbs every time they play online just to be able to have a shot at winning. By snaking, you’re forcing everybody else to snake if they want to win, and seeing as most people will find close-run matches more enjoyable than ones where everybody else zooms into the distance in a shower of blue sparks while they trail behind, you’re actually depraving them of the enjoyment of the game. That’s in incredible dick move to do.

I’m not saying that I hate losing, before anyone goes getting any ideas. Admittedly, I prefer winning over it, but if it’s a good match and I had fun then I’m not too bothered either way if I win or lose. Going round the track in 8th place while I get lapped again, simply because my thumbs are too sore to continue snaking is not fun, and it’s what ruined Mario Kart DS online for me. In my opinion, those who feel that they should snake whilst no one else is doing it are the ones who hate losing, that they’re so scared of appearing inferior, not knowing that using such a cheap tactic already proves that they are, at least in my eyes.

And yes, some items cause chaos. Get over it. A skilled player will be able to deal with it, and use some of the other items strategically to regain his or her lead. A well-timed red shell, or a fake mystery box placed in just the right place can turn around a match just as easily as a blue shell or lightning can.

I also have no idea why you think a level playing field is a bad thing. Are you that scared of losing?”

Knowing that there are others out there who share my sentiments is refreshing. And knowing that the latest Mario Kart game will do away with this terrible mess is a sigh of relief. Come April 27 (for North Americans), let’s put this silliness behind us and enjoy some pure, unadulterated Mario Kart.