10 Life Lessons I’ve Learned From Being Heavily Addicted To The Sims

Warning: This will contain a lot of Sims related puns. I’m not even a little sorry.

1. Everybody has off days.

Sometimes in life you’ll have a full queue of tasks to complete and you will be wildly productive. You’ll clean the house, read a biography, and manage to up your mechanical skill all in one day. But other days you’ll just wander around aimlessly, waving your arms and spewing gibberish to an unseen 20-something behind a keypad. And that’s okay. Not every day is going to be a day where you could cure cancer, or write a novel, or even get all of your laundry done. You just have to take each day as it is, and not stress out too much about the days where you’re less than your best. Even real life has a fast forward button and it’s called “tomorrow is a new day.”

2. God (or in your Sims’ case…you) is really in the details.

If you build a room, you’re going to need a door lest you end up with a trapped Sim. If you build a pool, you’re going to need a ladder so no one ends up splashing themselves to death. If you add an oven, you’ll want a smoke detector to be on the safe side.

You can’t just run around in life doing things without intent. Doing things without intent and without specificity will lead to sloppy work and a messy life that you won’t want to stand behind. You cannot build a life without doors, pool ladders, and smoke detectors because eventually those will be what you need and you’ll be royally screwed.

3. Sometimes your life is going to glitch and there’s nothing you can do.

Sometimes for absolutely no reason at all your head will be on backwards, your horse will be standing in the middle of the fence, or your baby will all of sudden become invisible. You won’t know why; you’ll just have to reboot and hope that you can fix it.

Okay so maybe the laws of physics WON’T be why your life gets a little wonky, but we all go through times where our life feels like it’s constantly lagging or running out of RAM space. What you have to remember during these times that are less than smooth sailing is that it will pass, and that it’s not the end of the world. Eventually everything will be okay.

4. Everyone needs to be social.

Even the biggest introvert of all will find their social bar getting scary low if they go too long without talking to someone. Whether we like it or not we all need people. It might just be for an afternoon catching up with friends, or maybe you just sit in the same room and work and just enjoy the fact that you aren’t alone. But you have to realize and admit that there is strength in realizing you can’t do everything alone. Everybody needs somebody. It’s as simple as that.

5. All of your problems probably have a solution.

Oh crap. Someone peed on the floor or the dishwasher broke? Well the game isn’t over and there is way to fix what’s broken or messy. You just have to look for it.

The only way to REALLY fail is to not try to remedy something when it goes wrong.

6. There is friendship potential in ALMOST everyone.

Bet you didn’t know that you’d end up being bros with the grim reaper! But here you are, barbecuing and joking away like you’ve known each other forever.

There is (almost) always good in someone. Maybe you really are polar opposites but that doesn’t mean you can’t be buddies. Some of my best friends are people who I look at every day and just think, “We have NOTHING in common but that’s what’s great.” You don’t need to be “twinsies” with every one of your friends; you just need to be good to and for each other.

7. It’s pretty fun to try new stuff.

You know how happy your Sims are when you introduce them to new hobbies? Well that’s how you’ll feel IRL when you try new stuff.

Always wanted to paddle board but you’ve never done it? Go to a rental store and give it a shot. Used to be in dance and you want to give Zumba a try? Find a buddy and a gym and get your sweat on. The worst thing that’s going to happen when you try new things is you find that it’s not your jam and you never do it again. THE HORROR.

8. Even a “rosebud” cheat doesn’t buy you happiness.

Here’s the thing. To a certain extent the idea that money doesn’t buy happiness is ludicrous. Because money keeps you clothed, fed, homed, and comfortable and that’s just the reality of the world we live in. But when asked what she learned from über rich man Judd Apatow about BEING über rich, Amy Schumer responded with, “There’s nothing to buy.” And that’s because there’s nothing you can buy with and endless amount of money that will ACTUALLY make you happier. Because happiness comes from people, experiences, and feelings. Not a dollar sign or an extra zero in your bank account.

9. Life’s way better with expansion packs.

Didn’t your Sims time get WAY better when you started having Nightlife, College, Pets, Vacation, and more? There is only one answer to this: Yes. Yes it did.

In the same way that your Sims life got more fun when you had the ability to have new virtual experiences, your REAL life is so much better, brighter, and more fulfilling when you allow yourself to have new experiences. Take that spontaneous vacation, volunteer on the weekends, even just break up your routine once in a while. Basically, just say yes more.

10. As fun as something is, you can’t do it forever.

Eventually you’ll realize you’ve been staring at your phone for two hours or been in your apartment on your laptop all weekend and it’s time to get it together. There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing. Maybe it’s refined sugar, maybe it’s Netflix, maybe it’s a vice, or maybe it’s a simulated little world full of fake families. But no matter what your “too much” is, you need to be able to recognize it and step away for a while. You can’t live your life monotonously or without moderation. You’ll be happier if you break things up, because you always get to come back.