The Secrets
These are the first 10 Avatar Secrets to Real Life and Love, from my journey in World of Warcraft.
Avatar Secret No.1
Know Your Backstory
Try to See Yourself from the Outside.
(This could also be called “Know Your Stats”)
My avatar is a Night Elf Priest. What does that mean? Well it determines that she’s tall, graceful and agile. She is a keen observer with the ability to slip away into shadows and an innate knowledge of magic. She’s also a healer, protective of others and conscious of what is going on around her at all times.
When you start playing World of Warcraft, the first thing you need to do is create your avatar from a series of predetermined races and classes. This involves finding out the different characteristics of character classes and the history of the various races of Avatars. It’s a given that different races and classes of avatars have unique qualities and behaviors. It’s digital DNA.
Your avatar’s backstory, the lore of it’s people and the skills and talents it possesses, reveal that character’s motivation, and why it behaves the way it does. It is also a determining factor in it’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s no question that knowing your avatar’s characteristics and backstory will help you in game play – so it makes sense that knowing your backstory will help you in real life, too.
But how many of us can sum up who we are in a couple of sentences? How many of us even take the time to reflect on who we are, where we come from, what we’re all about? I’m suggesting it’s time to start. After all, you wouldn’t choose an avatar without knowing a little something about it, shouldn’t you put that same homework into yourself?
Part of becoming the best you means knowing your own backstory and attributes – your stats. What is your “lore”? What is your narrative? Reflect on the moments in your life that have been most meaningful to you. Take an interest in the lives of those closest to you. Ask yourself how others see you… Or better, ask others. It’s the first step in playing the game, and a step we take for granted in our real lives.
While you’re piecing together your backstory – your real life character stats – think about the qualities that drew you to your avatar. (If you don’t have an avatar yet, you can choose one from the Personality Guide) What qualities does your avatar have that you see in yourself? What skills or strengths do you aspire to have? All of this will inform the character of you. So rarely do we allow ourselves the time to stop and take stock of who we are, where we come from, and where we want to forge ahead to, that it is easy for us to forget who we are.
To find out what your Avatar reveals about you, check out the Personality Guide.
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