I was a sugar whiz!

DISCLAIMER: This post contains a story about Candy Crush.

If you are not a fan of Candy Crush, please don’t discount my message… I have good reason.  Now, wasting time playing a mobile game?  For that… I have no real good reason!!  It is the only game I have downloaded on my phone and I am not very good at it.  Needless to say, I don’t play for very long periods of time (well, because I lose my lives before too much time passes anyway).

Over the holiday, I had made it to a new level in Candy Crush Soda.  I was pleased at my achievement.  I began switching and matching bottles – three, four, five at a time!!  Pop, pop, pop!  Game after game, I switched and matched bottles, blocks of ice, Swedish fish and colored candies. (To tell you how bad I am at Candy Crush Soda, I had to Google those things.)  I was doing SO well!!  I thought.  Then, I noticed, that even though I was matching and switching sodas, frosting and honey, I was not winning!

So, I thought to look at the top of my phone where the “goal” for the game is displayed. And, there it was… a tiny bear.  I hadn’t seen a bear!!  As much as I was working away, I was doing something that had nothing to do with the goal of the game at all!  Under the frosted cupcakes, honey and ice, there were hidden gummy bears, waiting to be freed from the sugary bliss!  So, I tried again.  This time, with a different perspective and a brand new purpose, I didn’t try to match and switch and match and switch. I tried to free the poor gummy bear!  It didn’t matter any more how many blocks and bottles were disappearing, if it wasn’t helping to free the bear, it didn’t matter at all!!  In fact, it was just a waste of my Candy Crush life!  After I paid attention to what the goal of the Candy Crush Soda board was, I was a sugar whiz!!  [Well, for several levels at least.]

Now.  Let me ask you… how often do we do the same thing at work?  We work and work doing something that may have significance, even for the purpose of observing, brainstorming, practicing or creative license, and it doesn’t help us achieve the end goal!  Especially with social media, make it your first priority to know your goal, your audience and what achievements matter.  The outcome on your time, money and effort will be much more rewarding.

FYI:  I never ask friends for more lives on Facebook – ever… in Candy Crush.  Social Media??  Well, that is another blog post!

Image credit: Google Play Store