Tyler Jackson, MPH’s Post

Have you ever found yourself trapped in a spiral of overthinking, desperately searching for certainty in an uncertain world? You're not alone. In fact, 90% of overthinking stems from this very search for safety and certainty. I used to believe that the answers to life's challenges lay outside of myself. This illusion of external control led me down a path of constant competition and comparison. Whether it was striving for the highest grade in class, pushing for the best performance on the field, or aiming to be first chair in the school band. I was always fighting to prove that I belonged. I vividly remember a regional band competition where I obsessed over every note, convinced that perfection was the only path to winning. This mindset wasn't just exhausting—it was limiting my growth. I was trapped in what I now understand as the fallacy of finite games. These are the games with fixed rules, fixed objectives, and definitive endings. I thought life worked the same way—that success was a finite resource to be won at the expense of others. But then I discovered the concept of infinite games, where rules evolve, and the objective is to keep playing and growing. This shift in perspective didn't happen overnight. It took my high school English teacher to plant the seed of change. After noticing my uncharacteristic silence for several days, he pulled me aside and asked, "Have you ever stopped to think about creating the person you are proud to be?" It made me realize that I had been so focused on winning conversations that I had forgotten about winning at learning. This pivotal moment reshaped my approach to personal growth. I began to see learning not as a finite game with an end goal, but as an infinite journey of continuous improvement. It's a constant cycle of order, disorder, and reorder—or put another way, think, rethink, think again. I discovered that true certainty and safety isn’t found in external validation, but in curiosity and adaptability. It's about being willing to update our beliefs when presented with better evidence and questioning which tools we need for each unique situation. So, I invite you to shift your perspective. Instead of searching for safety and certainty, create them by giving yourself permission to become who you're destined to be.