I’m addicted to Words With Friends, a Scrabble-like word game for smart phones. I only play it with Will because I’m not very good (in fact, I actually call it “Words with Fiances” because I’m adorably dorky like that).
Scrabble was not a popular game in my house growing up. We were more into UpWords, Scrabble’s less popular, faster moving friend. When we did play Scrabble, it was with an emphasis on speed. If you did happen to get your word on a triple letter score, bully for you, but we likely weren’t even keeping score.
I’ve played several games of Words With Friends with Will and only won once. Generally, his score is in excess of a hundred higher than mine. The other day, I commented that I suck at the game. His response stuck with me.
“Could it be that I’m just good at this?” he asked.
Yes.
Now let’s parse this for a lesson (because life is more fun when you over-analyze):
First, I need to stop turning things into negative self-reflections. I’m probably better than average at Words With Friends … I have a decent vocabulary. Will’s just better. He’s really good at stacking words one on top of the other to make words horizontally and vertically at the same time. Yeah, it blows my mind, too.
Second, I should take time to recognize the talents of others. “I suck” and “you’re awesome” have the same number of words (yes, a contraction is one word in my book). Will sometimes shows me the games he’s playing with other people and yikes! My man has some wordsmithing talents (as do some of his non-Helena opponents. I’m looking at you, SHL!)
While this particular application seems a little inconsequential (it’s just a game, after all), I’m positive that, like other metaphors, it can have broader implications in the real world.