There has always been a lot of politics, or games as some people refer to them everywhere I have worked. These games have been rated harmless to very serious. Many people I have worked do not like them, but like them or not, if you work somewhere with more than three people, there will be work related games going on. Games are played daily in many families too.
What I find interesting is even if you do not like game playing, sooner or later you are pulled into a game in progress. It may be due to some very careful manipulation of events that force you to be involved, or it may be a combination of totally random events that draw you in to where you have to participate, like it or not.
I in the game world, it makes it easier to deal with game players if you understand where they are coming from, and their purpose. For most game players in your life, they have one main objective. It is the same objective in politics, and the rules are probably very similar. The objective of game playing is influence, or control, which sound alike, but are just a little different.
In the influence department, people want to be on top of whatever pyramid they perceive. They want to be the person everyone comes to for everything. This sounds a lot like a leadership position, and it is close, but not quite. They do not always want to be in charge, they just want to always be in the limelight.
Someone playing games for control goes at things a little differently. They usually have little desire to be in the spotlight, but they want to be the person in control. They sometimes prefer to let someone else appear to run the show. They are really in charge of what happens, or does not happen. Knowing who is playing games for what reason, makes it easier to decide how you will participate, and to what level.
People who play games to influence are generally weaker, as influence players only have influence as long as others give it to them. People who play games for control are the more dangerous of the two, because their influence is not based on having influence. In a work area someone might have control because they control a particular aspect of the workplace, and everyone needs to go through them for what they want. Or people need to go through a few people who are under one person’s control.
If you are a game player yourself, want to be one, or do not like games at any level, knowing whether the people that are playing games want influence, or control works to make your life a lot easier. While it is sometimes frustrating, everyone gets pulled into these games at some point in their life. Knowing why they are being played makes it easier to decide what you want to do.
In general politics are the same as game playing, just a different form. A politician does what they need to gain influence, and will act in a manner that they think you approve of so you will give them your support. When a politician runs into problems, is when someone behind the scenes is really in control and the politician is acting as a puppet for the real person in charge.
There are few areas of life that are politics, or game free, generally in our day to day life, people get bored, or want more than they have. They start playing games to stir things up a little bit, to gain influence and/or control. Whether or not you are experienced makes a difference. The more experience you have in game playing, the higher the level you can play at, and the farther you can go, or stay away from.
Whether we like it or not, from families to the workplace, games are well entrenched in day to day life. How you react to them determines a lot of how your life is. Good luck….
