Have you heard of BIRGing? My friend Masih (follow) just made a post on Facebook about the extent of Seahawks bandwagoners leading up to the Super Bowl. (By the way, it truly is amazing how much Seahawks paraphernalia you see when you go outside in Seattle right now). I’ve never seen anything like it before.
“Games and sports are a phenomenal way to feel the rewards we need, without all the unknowns of life” – Vsauce
Today ‘Blue Friday’ before the Super Bowl, and I feel like every other person and car in the entire greater Seattle area is repping hawks right now. Pretty amazing, and cool indeed, because football is awesome, right? And we should show pride for the success of our local tribe, right? Yes, it makes sense why we would want to be a part of something great, but the psychology goes deeper than rap.
A couple years ago, my mentor told me to ‘not let the Mariners become your life’. At the time, I knew what he meant. He’d seen it, I’d seen it, but I never realized the extent of it. Last March, I heard about the term BIRGing, thanks to Vsauce education [watch video above about Why Do We Play Games? Talks about BIRGing at 10:00]. Basking In Reflected Glory. It’s when we claim to be part of something that is great, when really we have no direct connection on why it is great in the first place. BIRGing is a regular part of everyday life, we all BIRG, and it makes sense why we would want to bask in the glory around us whenever we can, because every body wants to feel that feeling of being great.
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But, like anything, when not used responsibly and in moderation, it can be dangerous. Why? Well, the psychology goes deep. In short (I have to get to happy hour here..), when one associates themselves so strongly with the BIRGing group, it starts to become part of their identity. To the extreme, that the BIRGer may forget to do anything significant with their life because they have virtually lived their successes and failures through the BIRGing group. We’ve all seen it. For example, that one guy where the Mariners is his life. He lives and breathes Mariners, thru the good and bad years. Difference between the Mariners and the Seahawks right now is nobody wants to rep the mariners because they’re losers, and EVERYBODY wants to rep the Seahawks, cuz they’re winners.
It feels good to win. And that’s what we’re after when we dress in blue today. (Y’all caught me wearing my hawks polo writing this, which, for the record, I only bought to wear for door to-door selling, because so much BIRGing was going on I had to, even early in the season.. not to say I don’t totally feel the blue glory on me right now;).
We just want to feel GOOD. Thats all. It’s like a drug. A crutch. We all have our own crutches, and I’ll admit, I have my own that could potentially be dangeruss if not kept in check, but y’all get my point (and I just like talking about psychology).
Let’s just be reminded that we are actually basking, in reflected, glory. I’ve seen it countless times as a subconscious excuse for people to give up on their own dreams. Let’s not be that guy. Let’s go out and win our own Super Bowls in life. Winning my Super Bowl means achieving financial freedom, doing what I want, when I want, where I want. [making money selling stuff online?] That’s my dream. But I have to remind myself of it all the time. And you should to.
~here’s to living THAT LIFE, YOUR LIFE, gloriously.
–> WATCH this video playlist (and my other playlists) to get yo mind right!
& of course, GO HAWKS
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