Wordle as a Metaphor for Life?

Posted in meditationTagged , , , ,

“You can’t win a game 7 without losing three games first. Keep going.” – Shea Serrano

As I having trouble solving Wordle the other day, I realized that I have been unusually focused on the word I used to start the puzzle. I’ve asked my friends that also play it what word they use. I’ve tried a few different ones myself, often using S-T-E-R-N since it represents some of the letters used most frequently used in English.

[For anyone who hasn’t tried to play this game that was recently bought by the NY Times, Wordle is a game where you have six tries to guess a common five letter word. You are not given any information to start with but when you enter a guess, you are told if you have any right letters and they are green if correct in the right spot and yellow if they are used on the word but in the wrong spot. Letters can be repeated. There is one word a day and everyone gets the same word so rest assured, this post doesn’t reveal today’s wordle.]

But as I typed in my word and got the result that the answer had none of those letters, I realized that knowing what isn’t in the word is equally as important.

The absence of a positive result is also informative.

It makes me think of a story about Thomas Edison. As he was trying to invent the light bulb, he tried more than a hundred different types of materials to use for the filament. Someone asked if he got discouraged and he said that he didn’t because each failure told him one more thing that didn’t work.

So Wordle is just the latest reminder that life is best met by continuing attempts to try. Every failure is just another opportunity to see what doesn’t fit. When I feel great resistance to something I’m doing in work or parenting, it presents an opportunity to think about whether I should push harder or try another tactic.

Some of life’s lessons are the hardest because we learn what not to do. But they are also some of the most valuable lessons, especially when we are able to distill the information and heal the trauma.

I did finally get the Wordle on the sixth try – phew! Because there weren’t very many letters left to combine into a common word (letters in dark gray on the keyboard indicate they have been tried and are not used in the word). It reminded me yet again, failure is an excellent source of information. Here it is in case you want to guess.

21 thoughts on “Wordle as a Metaphor for Life?”

  1. That concept is prominent right now- not so much with my own Wordle play as I accept it’s going to take me at least 3-4 tries! Working with the grands on school and their often extreme desire to get it right on the first try, whatever “it” may be is stressful for them. How do you convince a kid that learning means failure and repeated tries- no one knows everything the first time. I try to let them see me struggle and make mistakes but I don’t know if it’s sinking in. I want them to move away from this concept of perfection and rightness

    Liked by 2 people

    1. What an interesting comment, Deb! And I’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating – but you are an awesome grandmother!

      I’ve noticed with my kids that that perfection often ties to impatience. My daughter especially wants to get it right so she can move on. And I got some insight from Ab in his comments on another post that relating it to something that they like to practice like video games sometimes helps provide perspective.

      But I agree with you about the goal of supporting them to move away from the idea of perfection and rightness. I wonder where that comes from?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Oldest grands mom only admitted to me as an adult that she was focused on perfection growing up. Carries that still today along with anxiety. I asked if she felt pressure from me as a child- she said she put it all on herself…so how and why? She’s delving into that in therapy now.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I wonder if it’s an oldest child thing? Have you watched Encanto with your grandkids? Such a great movie about being authentic and more than just our gifts!

        Like

  2. “When I feel great resistance to something I’m doing in work or parenting, it presents an opportunity to think about whether I should push harder or try another tactic.” I resonate with this. Often when doing a certain task, we get stuck in the regularity of it, of trying to solve it that we run into a cul de sac! I remember it was always mentioned to us at school to think out of the box and honestly it seemed impossible to do so when weighed down by a problem. In such situations I know that I ought to take a step back, erase all that I had and start anew. It isn’t that I failed but I chanced upon things that won’t work, like crossing out the bad options.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I love the image of a cul de sac, parikhit! And yes, the suggestion to take a step back when weighed down is such a good one. Yes, we haven’t failed but instead, “chanced upon things that won’t work.” Beautifully said!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. You’re right, Wynne, Wordle really is a good metaphor in that regard. I realize that right away every morning when I’m getting my Wordle fix; finding out what can’t work is just as useful as finding out what can work (well, maybe not as useful as finding ‘green’ letters!). I hadn’t thought to extend that observation to other aspects of life. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re right, Jane – I totally find it useful to get those green letters right away and if it always worked out that way, I wouldn’t complain. But a lot of wrong guesses gets me there too. 🙂 🙂 I love my Wordle fix for the day too!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Ooooh, we’ll have to talk more about Wordle. But glad to have found a fellow Wordle fan. It’s a wonderful way to enjoy my morning coffee with and to get the brain juices moving.

    I agree with you that part of the fun is figuring out what’s not in the word – kinda like the board game Clue – and you’re strategy makes sense!

    For me, I try to change up the word everyday, keeping in mind NYT mixes up the letters. I aim for two vowels per try to try to eliminate the words.

    It’s such a fun game indeed! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Love this response, Ab! Sometimes I think you and I were twins separated at birth – and about 12 years. 🙂

      You change your starting word and use two vowels, huh? Interesting! I’ve gotten a couple in 2 guesses which has made me overly attached to my starting word but I’ll trying changing it up!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Failure is a great teacher. We can learn a lot from our mistakes. I’ve been curious about this game that everyone seems to be playing these days. I’ll have to give it a try. 😊

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.