You're not bad, you're just underleveled
Part of Player Mindset Collection
Approach life like a game to make growth more engaging and strategic.
In games
When you lose in a game, the system tells you exactly why.
“Level too low” “Equipment required: Iron Sword (Lv. 15)” “Skill required: Double Jump”
The failure message is crystal clear. It’s not that you’re bad or lacking talent—you just haven’t met the requirements yet.
No player deletes their account because they can’t beat a level 50 boss at level 10. You know it’s temporary. Not today, maybe after some grinding.
Games make failure objective: it’s not about the person, it’s about the numbers.
In reality
Real-life failure comes without system prompts.
Your work gets ignored, you get rejected from a job, someone turns you down. No one tells you what went wrong.
So we start spiraling: “Am I actually bad at this?” “Maybe I just don’t have the talent.” “Forget it, I’m not cut out for this.”
Wait. What if this were a game?
That piece of work no one noticed? Your “copywriting skill: Lv. 2” might not be enough yet. That company that rejected you? They might require “experience points: 3 years.” That relationship that fizzled out? Your “emotional management” might not be maxed out yet.
Failure doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. Failure is just reminding you: you’re not leveled up yet.
Permanent “I can’t do this” vs. temporary “I’m not ready yet”—the difference is huge.
The former makes you quit. The latter makes you grind.
Every expert was once a beginner. The difference is, they translated “I can’t do this” into “What do I need to practice?”
You’re not bad, you’re just underleveled.
Player notes
The first time I recorded a YouTube video, I almost cried watching my own work.
Voice shaking, eyes wandering, “um” and “uh” taking up half the time. Compared to the YouTubers I admired, I was a disaster.
“What was I thinking? I’m really not cut out for this.”
Deleted the video, shut down the computer, went back to being a comfortable viewer.
After starting to apply this gaming mindset, I changed my perspective: if video creation is a profession, I’m currently level 1, and those YouTubers in my feed are at least level 60.
Level 1 performance naturally looks like level 1. This isn’t a talent problem, it’s an experience points problem.
I started making a list:
- Speaking to camera: Lv. 1
- Editing: Lv. 1
- Audio processing: Lv. 1
- Public speaking: Lv. 1
- Content organization: Lv. 5 (I’ve written articles)
- Topic selection: Lv. 50
Clear now. It’s not “I can’t do this,” it’s “several skills are still in the starter zone.”
Now I continue writing blog posts (practicing content organization), leading book club discussions (practicing verbal expression), recording video notes (getting used to my voice and speaking to camera), watching tutorials (learning editing).
These skills seem scattered, but they’re all preparing for the same thing.
I’m still a level 1 YouTuber. But once public speaking hits level 10 and speaking to camera hits level 10, YouTube won’t feel so scary. Just like in games—better equipment, higher level, and monsters you couldn’t beat become beatable.
As long as I don’t misread “not ready now” as “never will be ready.”
Leveling tips
□ When failing, ask: “What skill does this need?” Not “Do I lack talent?”
□ Change “I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this yet”—one word makes a big difference
□ Go find high-level players’ level 1 work, you’ll realize no one is born level 60
□ Set controllable, actionable leveling goals (do it 10 times) instead of uncontrollable outcome goals (must succeed, must achieve X results)