Gamer? Me? Not So Much
I have a confession: I am not very good at playing video games. Most of my time on the family XBox 360 is playing multiplayer games with my kids, and on that machine my gamer tag is “Target”, so that should give you a good idea of my proficiency at Halo, Call of Duty, or whatever the game of the week is around here.
I don’t have any problem with folks who love to take the time to beat games. Both of my college age sons love the challenge of a good game when they have the time.
I guess I’m just not a gamer at heart.
A Tinkerer At Heart
I think I could be a lot better at video games, but that would require a lot more time playing by myself than I care to give. My main problem is I am more interested in how it was done than I am in finishing whatever task is set before me. I would rather try to figure out how to do even a small part of what I see, than to finish playing. That same all tinker, no finish, bleeds into other areas of my life at times as well.
I love to tinker. On my mac, in the garage, in the yard, wherever. Doing something for the first time, usually without instructions and just a vague idea of what I want is one of my favorite ways to waste some time.
I have other marks of a tinkerer as well. I’d rather start something new than take something that I think is “good enough” and finish and polish it. Every time a new idea crosses my path, I’m tempted to play too long with the new shiny instead of pressing forward and finishing the old.
I Want To Be A Maker
I still feel the call of the tinkerer within, but I am getting better at resisting. Both personally and professionally, my goal is to increase my finishing percentage, and I am reasonably pleased with my progress.
I do not want to be known as just a tinkerer, I want to finish things well.
I want to be known as a maker, a maker of good things.
p.s.
Now that I’ve come clean about my abysmal gamer credentials, I only hope that the geek overlords do not find out and revoke my geek card.
