I caved, I admit it. I downloaded Candy Crush to my iPad. No, I have not connected it to Facebook but I have fallen victim to the worldwide obsession that is Candy Crush. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a simple game that’s maddeningly and oddly challenging and brainless all at once. In a nutshell, you connect pieces of candy to make them explode and disappear. After playing it almost daily for a few weeks, I finally had an epiphany – Candy Crush has lessons for personal leadership too. Maybe that’s why I like it… that must be the reason, right?
Three Personal Leadership Ah-Has from Candy Crush
You Can’t Always Predict How Pieces Will Fall
As in work and life, it’s easy to see what’s immediately around you and create small chains that move the game forward. What is much harder to spot is when your small action will create a chain reaction that cascades to far-reaching corners that you thought were out of touch. Remember high school physics? Newtons Law? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Same holds true for your personal leadership. What you do and think creates change but you can’t always predict how much.
Be intentional with your actions, the ripples will carry far beyond where you imagine. (Click to Tweet)
You Need to Take Time Off Between Lives
In Candy Crush you get five lives at a time and if you fail five times, you need to wait to recharge. This is a big one for each of us in our real-lives too. How in touch are you with ebbs and flows? How long can you go-go-go before your crash? Truthfully, there are times we need to work seven days a week for 15 hours a day but at the end we need to rest and recover. Candy Crush forces a pause and you need to choose recovery time.
Choose to pause, reflect, learn and breathe before jumping back into the fray. (Click to Tweet)
Big Moves Can Fall Flat
When you think you’ve got a super-fancy big move in your back pocket, it’s not always met with the trumpets and fanfare that you expect and it can be disappointing. It’s OK to take a beat to be let down but then you need to shake it off and keep on going. Don’t become paralyzed, start to overanalyze or worse, get angry that things didn’t go your way. Not everything goes as planned – it’s a fact of life. Let your personal leadership shine by incorporating and sharing the learning.
The awesome part about tomorrow? We get to try again. (Click to Tweet)
So, you want to Candy Crush your personal leadership and get rid of the things that are in your way?
Here’s a mantra to try on for size:
Candy Crush always magically has more lives. Don’t give up – just try again!
Are you a Candy Crush fan? What leadership lessons do you have to share?
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Great, timeless lessons for human beings of all ages to learn.
Stephen ~ Amazing what we can discover if we look for meaning – even from a silly game! Thanks!
I am such a proponent of taking time to rejuvenate between work assignments or spending too many hours or days focusing on a particular project. Love how that is built into Candy Crush because when we do take time to reflect and breathe again, we gain perspective.
I haven’t gotten into this game yet but know many who have. Thanks Alli for another fun, but informational post on leadership! Great post!
Like you, I’ve worked 80+ hours and it’s not sustainable. Taking a pause in between is essential. Probably a good thing if you haven’t gotten a Candy Crush addiction like so many others! 🙂
Hi Alli, I confess I’ve not played this game yet but I find that we’re attracted to games precisely because they are metaphors for life…battles, risk, and recovery. You always find such wisdom in the every day of life…. 🙂
Thanks, LaRae! I didn’t play for a long time and wasn’t sure about the hype. I am probably not that good at it because I play it mindlessly – I let the day drip away for just a moment and give myself a mental break to then be ready to refocus on all that’s ahead.
I love the rest between lives concept. I’m such a believer in that. Breaks provide clarity for better strategy and insights.
I’m a big believer too. Impossible problems somehow give birth to new possibilities when we step away instead of pulling our hair out in frustration. Thanks, Karin!