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| My Zelda themed cubicle at work |
Hey, all. Been a while since I posted. I'm trying to get back into regular posts. I thought I would start with my absolute obsession for 25 years: The Legend of Zelda. The games teach you a lot. Gaming in general can teach you a lot. I wanted to write this post to show how The Legend of Zelda has influenced my life, particularly in the workplace. Aside from my Zelda-themed office above, it has played a part in my work ethic & style. Here's how I use Zelda logic at work:
Use The Tools Available For The Task
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| Clawshot |
This isn't a new concept to me. In a dungeon, you work your way through it until you get the dungeon item, like this clawshot depicted above. Then, you use the new item to solve various puzzles in the dungeon until you beat it. I find that, when I'm doing certain tasks at work, I need to use whatever items (technology) necessary, no matter how unconventional, to complete the task. I have had images given to me saved as PDF, and have been asked as to how to save them as images. I go to full screen mode, print screen, go to GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulator Program - Open Source answer to the other popular, pricey photo editor), and quickly crop & save the item as a workable image. Experiment lots. You may find a new way to do something.
Problem-Solving Skills
This is something I am working on improving at. When stressful situations come up at work, I tend to shut down. That's not good. I did a lot of reflecting on stressful situations, and I came to the conclusion that, when I play Zelda, I don't shut down when a problem is presented to me. I try to solve it calmly. So, I am treating work-related situations as puzzles for me to solve. And, yes, this Water Temple analogy is perfect for this section, as it does have annoying puzzles in it. Not as bad as Great Bay Temple in Majora's Mask, but it's up there. So, I am hoping that my problem-solving skills get better as I go into problem-solving mode instead of panicking over stressful situations.
Always Helping Others
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| Zelda & Link at the end of Skyward Sword |
At my work, I always strive to be helpful and make myself available no matter what. This has led me to kind of have a hero complex where I try to rescue people out of stressful tasks. Link always helps people out no matter what. Link is my hero. I always feel good after helping someone out of a jam, especially if it's a tedious task that may take them forever to do on their own. If I can find a way to program something for a coworker or my boss, I'll find a way. And, if I can't, I'll let them know, but not without trying every available option first. That's true teamwork.
So, this is just a little bit of how I feel The Legend of Zelda has influenced my work life. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you.
May the way of the Hero lead us to the Triforce.
