SuperBetter

A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient - Powered by the Science of Games

By: Jane McGonigal

Narrated by: Jane McGonigal

Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

An innovative guide to living gamefully, based on the program that has already helped nearly half a million people achieve remarkable personal growth.

In 2009, internationally renowned game designer Jane McGonigal suffered a severe concussion. Unable to think clearly or work or even get out of bed, she became anxious and depressed, even suicidal. But rather than let herself sink further, she decided to get better by doing what she does best: She turned her recovery process into a resilience-building game. What started as a simple motivational exercise quickly became a set of rules for “post-traumatic growth” that she shared on her blog. These rules led to a digital game and a major research study with the National Institutes of Health. Today nearly half a million people have played SuperBetter to get stronger, happier, and healthier.

But the life-changing ideas behind SuperBetter are much bigger than just one game. In this book, McGonigal reveals a decade’s worth of scientific research into the ways all games - including videogames, sports, and puzzles - change how we respond to stress, challenge, and pain. She explains how we can cultivate new powers of recovery and resilience in everyday life simply by adopting a more “gameful” mind-set. Being gameful means bringing the same psychological strengths we naturally display when we play games - such as optimism, creativity, courage, and determination - to real-world goals.

Drawing on hundreds of studies, McGonigal shows that getting superbetter is as simple as tapping into the three core psychological strengths that games help you build:

• Your ability to control your attention, and therefore your thoughts and feelings
• Your power to turn anyone into a potential ally, and to strengthen your existing relationships
• Your natural capacity to motivate yourself and super-charge your heroic qualities, like willpower, compassion, and determination

SuperBetter contains nearly 100 playful challenges anyone can undertake in order to build these gameful strengths. It includes stories and data from people who have used the SuperBetter method to get stronger in the face of illness, injury, and other major setbacks, as well as to achieve goals like losing weight, running a marathon, and finding a new job.

As inspiring as it is down to earth, and grounded in rigorous research, SuperBetter is a proven game plan for a better life. You’ll never say that something is “just a game” again.

©2015 Jane McGonigal (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"For those in search of a new self-help regimen, SuperBetter might just be the answer. Strong medical research and firsthand accounts provide evidence that playing games can make you a healthier, happier, more confident person." (Kirkus)

“At the heart of SuperBetter is a simple and potentially transformative idea: We can use the same psychological strengths we display when we play games to confront real-life challenges, whether it's illness, injury, or just changing our habits for the better. Grounded in research and informed by McGonigal’s own sometimes harrowing experiences, this book will make you stop and think, then get you to act.” ("Daniel H. Pink, best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind)

“SuperBetter delivers mind-boggling, science-supported, health-promoting knowledge and practical steps to bring more well-being into your life in a fun and engaging way, even if you are facing epic challenges like anxiety, depression, traumatic brain injury, or medical illness. Visionary innovator and researcher Jane McGonigal provides the proof and the practices that reveal how living a ‘gameful’ life can help you get personally stronger, closer to others, clearer in your mind, braver in your actions, and a greater hero in your own unfolding life story. SuperBetter is a playful, hands-on manual immersing you directly in challenges and adventures of creative gaming to develop more flexibility and resilience as you transform your life.” (Daniel J. Siegel, MD, clinical professor, UCLA School of Medicine and author of Mindsight)

I will never be able to thank the author enough

the app saved my life several years ago in a very bad depression and is helping again now that I was diagnosed with autism and ADHD and found myself in need of help. it helps you break down complex tasks into the smallest bits and makes completing every little thing an achievement. it gave me back motivation and the belief in myself but more than that, it helps build habits, implement lasting changes and makes things you once dreaded into fun activities. I miss the app and the constant release of new quests but the book is a great way to teach you how to design your own journey and become superbetter. can't recommend it enough, no matter where you are in life or what are your challenges, you can learn from this book

I love this book

Jane McGonigal has not let me down with any of her work. This book introduced me to the SuperBetter game and techniques that I can use to help me through some of the greatest challenges I face. Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to better their life or the life of someone else!

Life is All Fun and Games

Great approach to life. Turn it into play and achieve more than before. Read it then study it.

Fantastic book, not the ideal medium

Any additional comments?

In terms of the content, is a highly captivating and interesting book, which deserves a read. While the author can seem to have a very optimistic outlook on video games, Jane McGonigal does a great job of backing up her optimism with research, while also nodding to the other side of the argument about games. I also think incorporating "quests" and other interactive elements to the book makes it extremely engaging.

If I were only writing this review about the book itself, its content, then I would give it 5 stars. The medium, however, doesn't quite work for me. That being said, I love McGonigal's reading. It allows me to feel closer to her, as she references her own experience with a concussion and how the superbetter method worked for her throughout the book. Also, I have watched her TED talks and listened to her speak about superbetter, and there is something about her excitement about the innovations in game psychology and this method that excites me and makes me truly feel her passion.

However, I generally listen to audiobooks on the car or at work or while doing chores, so the interactive aspects of the book (the quests) are not easy to complete. Because of this, the audiobook medium makes the book a little less interactive for me and therefore slightly less engaging than if I could stop whatever I was doing to participate.

Overall: If you find yourself struggling with a challenge in life or are already using Superbetter online, this book is absolutely worth reading. It definitely helps you understand the science behind this method. The only thing I suggest is that you get this book in physical form because it is meant to be read when you have free time and can dedicate some real time and effort to the quests found therein.

I rarely give 5 star reviews but...

The insights, practical tips, tricks, and other methods to hack your mood and health are the best I've ever come across! One word of advice, the companion "SuperBetter" app makes the book much easier to follow without being overwhelmed. Do yourself a everyone around you a favour and get SuperBetter!

Good long book

The ideas behind Superbetter have been expanded upon in many other books which the author mentions. I really like the idea of turning the ideas into games to make it practical though.

Exceeded my expectations

This book Exceeded my expectations.
I enjoyed it Immensely. I had numerous ah ha Moments . It is a little long,but well worth it.

Not Great as Audiobook

I enjoyed the information but I didn’t enjoy this book as an audiobook. I thought the narration was too slow, which I fixed by increasing the playback speed. Still, this changed the quality of the audiobook for me. I like listening to narrators with naturally pleasant cadences. In fairness to the author, I love that she was reading her own book and her vocal tone is very pleasant. It’s the rhythm and cadence that I didn’t personally like.

Also, this book is so dense, I feel it would have been helpful to have a physical copy in front of me for reference. Again, my issue is not with the book so much as the audiobook version of the book. It just didn’t work for me as an audiobook.

All Time Favorite

I LOVE THIS BOOK. So good, so actionable, changed my perspective on how I make my way through challenges and day-to-day life. Amazing. Must read.

She emphasizes every other word while reading.

I had to stop. the content is fascinating, useful and immediately applicable but dear god, it's like she said:

"I'm going to keep my readers *engaged * and *interested* by putting *passion* into every sentence...adding meaningful PAUSES before each clause....and emphasizing *most* of the words as I SPEAK."

Absolutely frustrating. Book has better content than Reality is Broken but her reading style is just ridiculous.