I often play online Scrabble to relax. The game is well programmed with a fair competitive algorithm and rating system. As I play, I often think of how successful Scrabble strategies relate to good life lessons. These are some of the lessons I've learned.
Don't squander your valuable assets
If you hold on to your valuable letters until a moment when you can get the most points out of those letters, you're on the road to success. Yet, if you hold on to those valuable letters too long, you won't have a chance to use them. So the life lesson is to take your valuable assets seriously and use them with care to get the most out of life for yourself and others.
Be aware of your surroundings
When playing Scrabble, you need to be aware of the whole board all the time. Knowing your surroundings helps you to take advantage of opportunities when they arise and also allows you to block opponent's play that hinders your success. In life, we have to be aware of our surroundings in order to make the most advantageous moves for ourselves and others. Knowing our surroundings helps us to stay safe and live well.
Strategy helps us to attain our goals
Use strategy to make your best moves. Without strategy, you'll likely be left with a lot of useless letters and lose the game. In life, we have to use strategy to reach our goals. If we squander all the value we have right away, we'll have none left when good opportunities arise. Similarly if we don't save and hold on to some of our valuable assets and capacity, we won't be able to reach the rich goals we've set.
Lose with grace
We won't always win or achieve our goals, but if we take our losses with a sense of grace and a spirit of learning where we went wrong, we'll be a more welcome opponent or teammate later on which opens up the door to further competitions and successes.
Small steps are necessary
Sometimes it's necessary to take a few small steps to achieve the big goal. For example, in Scrabble, you may want to pass in order to get the space to earn a Bingo. Too many small steps, however, decreases your chance of a win since every time you take a small step, you earn very few points. Life is full of small steps and big steps--strategically knowing when it's better to take a small step or a big step can help you achieve your goals.
Good rest and relaxation sets the stage for a win
I typically win more when I'm well rested and relaxed. Yet, if I'm too relaxed and not astute, I lose. To be as sharp as you can be in life leads to better life moves and more successes. Get the rest you need, and stay focused for important decisions and work in life.
Learn from those that succeed
Playing great Scrabble players is a great way to learn the game. Those great players utilize countless great strategies with regard to time as well as defensive and offensive moves. Analyzing your opponent's play as you play the game teaches you to be a better player. The same is true in life. Observing how those who succeed in areas of life we're interesting in is a great way to learn how to be successful in life.
Notice the time of day when you win more
Many of us are more powerful at one time of day or another. Notice when you play your best game of Scrabble and why. That may help you to identify the best time of day to do your most important life work too.
There's an element of chance
Similar to life, there's an element of chance in the game of Scrabble, and you simply have to deal with that element of chance as best you can.
Grouping and pairing letters leads to big wins
Pairing letters such as ed, ing, er, re, tion, and more can help you to score a bingo and make words that add up to a lot of points. In life, we can pair experiences, opportunities, people, and places to create a more successful endeavor, project, or time. For example, successful vacations for me often pair city and country visits. Good times group similar groups of family members and friends, and projects past often included the right groups of people who have the skill, interest, and knowledge for project success.
Try out new strategies
Sometimes I play simply to try out a new strategy. Then I evaluate the success of that strategy. We need to be experimental in life by taking responsible risks to try out new paths of success.
Trade in your letters
There are times when your letters are simply horrible. In life, there can be times when our situation is horrible. That's when we have to "trade-in" to start anew. Sometimes you may have to be make a couple trades in a row to make the playing field more fertile and ready for success.
Enjoyment and practice matters
I enjoy Scrabble. I play a lot, and I continue to get better. Engaging in activities we enjoy and practicing the skills and abilities related to those activities helps us to gain greater success in life too.
Games like Scrabble lead to great relaxation and fun, and these games have some life lessons to offer too. Onward.