I am fairly sure that this weekend will be wall to wall Pokémon Go again with the small people in my house. The big surprise for me has been how many adults are enjoying this game! And, being the people watcher that I am, I wanted to know where the appeal lies: how this game affirms what we already know and attracts us at an instinctive level. After a very small amount of investigation I found some really solid, fundamental life strategies woven in the fabric of Pokémon Go. Here are my favourite four, have you any to add?
Level up
On the game if you want to move up a level you need experience. You get more credit for achieving goals you had not achieved previously than you do for repeating the same old thing. If that doesn’t resonate I don’t know what does.
Lures and Incense
In Pokéworld you can use lures and incense to bring the Pokémon to you so you can capture them more easily. Well this really echoes my mantra of “Work smart, not hard”. As all my colleagues and learners at StudyOnline.ie and Cenit College know, I am a massive fan of online learning. Online learning brings learning into your home, or along the on train journey or with you while you work out. Finding ways to maximise your productivity without increasing your workload should be part of everyone’s career strategy
Incubating your Egg
In the game you need to put effort into hatching your eggs. You can get three egss,a 2km egg, a 5km or 10km. To incubate it into something good you have to walk the prescribed distance. And what do you know? The longer the walk, the more valuable the Pokémon that comes out of your egg!
Learning to work towards a goal and accepting that you have to be patient to achieve greatness are two amazing life skills. And this little app is rolling it out to millions. If you like this idea then watch Ted Talk’s Marshmallow Experiment here.
Building and protecting a Gym
Players chose a team in Pokémon Go and with their team they can build and protect a gym. The stronger the team members are in that gym, the more protected the gym is. In real life it can be hard to accept changes, new people and to work as a team. But the advantage that you get from enhancing your team with quality players with diverse skills and knowledge makes your team unbeatable and gives you that competitive edge.
So this weekend, embrace your inner child and learn some great life skills along the way. Happy hunting!
