If it’s Not in the Cards, Wash Your Hands of it

Can I hear from my fellow spider solitaire fans out there?! As someone whose commute is purely underground and can range anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour-and-a-half depending on if the trains are cooperating, phone games which don't require an internet connection have been a big sanity saver. (I'm actually writing this whilst being stuck underground. Ah, New York City life.) 

I've always played games a little backwards, even on my PC/Console games. Whereas most people start on lower levels and work their way up, I start at the hardest level and play until I master it. My biggest success story is Tetris; my high score is around 3.2 million because I start them at level 16. It forces me to think in a different way and the payoff is bigger: more satisfaction, higher score, etc. Spider solitaire is no different. 

Now if any of you have tried to play 4 suit Spider (and you're not some sort of card game prodigy), you know it's hard. Like, ridiculously hard. I've played hundreds of games and only won a handful. Every time I have to start a new game because there are no moves left the app asks me "Are you sure you want to abandon the current game?"

Woof. Talk about some choice wording. Thanks for the guilt and ego trip, Spidey. 

Now obviously this is a frivolous example, but it is a concept we all struggle with in life: choosing whether to "abandon" something or keep going, especially whenever it looks shiny or the potential to be positive. 

There have been a couple of games where it seemed like I was making progress to win. Maybe I'd even create a couple of full suit sets. I'd replay the same game over and over again getting varying levels of success, but never winning that particular hand. It was so disheartening to finally (after a week of playing the same hand) realize I needed to start a new one. I felt like I wasted so much time, I failed. Maybe if I had done it ONE more time I could have won it. 

How many times do we do this in our lives? We stay in situations that clearly are wrong for us for so long because we are terrified of failure or having to admit defeat. Jobs, relationships, friendships... I'm sure everyone can name at least one.

There is a difference between quitting and knowing when to step away. 

Those same hands that I couldn't seem to master are a piece of cake for someone else. That doesn't make me any less intelligent, it just means the hand wasn't dealt for my brain! There are probably a thousand people who couldn't solve the one I did and so on. It all comes down to understanding your strengths and maximizing them. My boss says all the time: "Qualify in or qualify out quickly" and that applies to just about every aspect of our lives. 

The reason there are so many different hobbies, interests, and people is because we are a beautiful, diverse species. Getting stuck in the "what if" will take away from your time you could have been "doing."

So to answer your question, Spider Solitaire, yes I will "abandon" your game. I bet the next hand hits the jackpot.

 

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