How to Play Your Way to Transformation
How to Play Your Way to Transformation
How to Play Your Way to Transformation
Transforming your person, relationships and view of reality is no easy task.
There are many different ways, paths, schools, courses and ideas to follow towards self-knowledge.
However, it’s hard to separate fact from opinion, distinguish ideology from truth and balance personal desire with common good. Many people are facing profound inner conflict, and it is oh-so-easy to fall into the trendy nihilism of meaninglessness. #depressionmemes
Transforming your person, relationships and view of reality is no easy task.
There are many different ways, paths, schools, courses and ideas to follow towards self-knowledge.
However, it’s hard to separate fact from opinion, distinguish ideology from truth and balance personal desire with common good. Many people are facing profound inner conflict, and it is oh-so-easy to fall into the trendy nihilism of meaninglessness. #depressionmemes
Transforming your person, relationships and view of reality is no easy task.
There are many different ways, paths, schools, courses and ideas to follow towards self-knowledge.
However, it’s hard to separate fact from opinion, distinguish ideology from truth and balance personal desire with common good. Many people are facing profound inner conflict, and it is oh-so-easy to fall into the trendy nihilism of meaninglessness. #depressionmemes
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
Ethan Hsieh
/
November 5, 2025
But once in a while, something shines through.
It can feel like a deep moment of connectedness, or an ‘a-ha’ moment of discovery.
It feels like the world opens up.
It’s incredibly motivating.
So you attend more workshops, listen to endless podcasts or audiobooks, maybe even decide to go to therapy.
Over time, it feels like there’s ground beneath your feet. You know yourself, you can tag yourself with all sorts of good words:
“empath, self-aware, real…”
But deep down, there’s still a quiet feeling that something isn’t quite right… Like there’s still something in you that’s unresolved. A flash of doubt and recognition that you can’t have possibly figured yourself out with nothing left to discover, right? Because that would be…
Oh, right.
Meaningless.
But once in a while, something shines through.
It can feel like a deep moment of connectedness, or an ‘a-ha’ moment of discovery.
It feels like the world opens up.
It’s incredibly motivating.
So you attend more workshops, listen to endless podcasts or audiobooks, maybe even decide to go to therapy.
Over time, it feels like there’s ground beneath your feet. You know yourself, you can tag yourself with all sorts of good words:
“empath, self-aware, real…”
But deep down, there’s still a quiet feeling that something isn’t quite right… Like there’s still something in you that’s unresolved. A flash of doubt and recognition that you can’t have possibly figured yourself out with nothing left to discover, right? Because that would be…
Oh, right.
Meaningless.
But once in a while, something shines through.
It can feel like a deep moment of connectedness, or an ‘a-ha’ moment of discovery.
It feels like the world opens up.
It’s incredibly motivating.
So you attend more workshops, listen to endless podcasts or audiobooks, maybe even decide to go to therapy.
Over time, it feels like there’s ground beneath your feet. You know yourself, you can tag yourself with all sorts of good words:
“empath, self-aware, real…”
But deep down, there’s still a quiet feeling that something isn’t quite right… Like there’s still something in you that’s unresolved. A flash of doubt and recognition that you can’t have possibly figured yourself out with nothing left to discover, right? Because that would be…
Oh, right.
Meaningless.
When Self-Help Stops Helping
From spending over a decade travelling the world training actors and non-actors alike, I’ve come to know intimately the difficulty of becoming a well-adjusted person. Personally, socially, culturally and existentially. I started to see how my work was impacting everyday people, not just actors.
They shared an increasingly common feeling that the world they lived in was not real, that life was not worth living, and that everything was just an illusion.
Even themselves.
No matter how they tried to fill that void, with
lots of dates, chasing that social media carrot or finding their tribe still came with the caveats of cult dynamics, coercion, manipulation and in some cases, abuse from the people they thought were “their people”.
I'll admit. That was me too.
When Self-Help Stops Helping
From spending over a decade travelling the world training actors and non-actors alike, I’ve come to know intimately the difficulty of becoming a well-adjusted person. Personally, socially, culturally and existentially. I started to see how my work was impacting everyday people, not just actors.
They shared an increasingly common feeling that the world they lived in was not real, that life was not worth living, and that everything was just an illusion.
Even themselves.
No matter how they tried to fill that void, with
lots of dates, chasing that social media carrot or finding their tribe still came with the caveats of cult dynamics, coercion, manipulation and in some cases, abuse from the people they thought were “their people”.
I'll admit. That was me too.
When Self-Help Stops Helping
From spending over a decade travelling the world training actors and non-actors alike, I’ve come to know intimately the difficulty of becoming a well-adjusted person. Personally, socially, culturally and existentially. I started to see how my work was impacting everyday people, not just actors.
They shared an increasingly common feeling that the world they lived in was not real, that life was not worth living, and that everything was just an illusion.
Even themselves.
No matter how they tried to fill that void, with
lots of dates, chasing that social media carrot or finding their tribe still came with the caveats of cult dynamics, coercion, manipulation and in some cases, abuse from the people they thought were “their people”.
I'll admit. That was me too.
“As organisms become more intelligent and more in need of developmental transformations they also become more playful — they need more and more play. Play is not a frivolous thing. One of the disasters of our culture is that we think of play as only about fun.”
-Prof. John Vervaeke,
Cognitive Scientist & Philosopher
University of Toronto
Author of Awakening From The Meaning Crisis
“As organisms become more intelligent and more in need of developmental transformations they also become more playful — they need more and more play. Play is not a frivolous thing. One of the disasters of our culture is that we think of play as only about fun.”
-Prof. John Vervaeke,
Cognitive Scientist & Philosopher
University of Toronto
Author of Awakening From The Meaning Crisis
“As organisms become more intelligent and more in need of developmental transformations they also become more playful — they need more and more play. Play is not a frivolous thing. One of the disasters of our culture is that we think of play as only about fun.”
-Prof. John Vervaeke,
Cognitive Scientist & Philosopher
University of Toronto
Author of Awakening From The Meaning Crisis
Even though most of us can pull up a search bar or walk into a bookstore and find all manner of journals, courses, listicles to “Change/Manifest/Improve your life TODAY!”, many still struggle:
They’ve worked hard to meditate and be aware of their emotions...
but still experience loneliness and distance in their relationships.
They’ve solved some major problem, be it addiction or depression...
but are still directionless around what to do next.
They’ve “done so much work on themselves”...
but still feel frustrated around what it’s all for.
They’ve travelled across the world for retreats or spent countless hours in online courses...
but still feel stuck in their personal growth.
If any of those sound like something you’ve experienced, please know that these are not unique to you and have actually been around for thousands of years.
Even though most of us can pull up a search bar or walk into a bookstore and find all manner of journals, courses, listicles to “Change/Manifest/Improve your life TODAY!”, many still struggle:
They’ve worked hard to meditate and be aware of their emotions...
but still experience loneliness and distance in their relationships.
They’ve solved some major problem, be it addiction or depression...
but are still directionless around what to do next.
They’ve “done so much work on themselves”...
but still feel frustrated around what it’s all for.
They’ve travelled across the world for retreats or spent countless hours in online courses...
but still feel stuck in their personal growth.
If any of those sound like something you’ve experienced, please know that these are not unique to you and have actually been around for thousands of years.
Even though most of us can pull up a search bar or walk into a bookstore and find all manner of journals, courses, listicles to “Change/Manifest/Improve your life TODAY!”, many still struggle:
They’ve worked hard to meditate and be aware of their emotions...
but still experience loneliness and distance in their relationships.
They’ve solved some major problem, be it addiction or depression...
but are still directionless around what to do next.
They’ve “done so much work on themselves”...
but still feel frustrated around what it’s all for.
They’ve travelled across the world for retreats or spent countless hours in online courses...
but still feel stuck in their personal growth.
If any of those sound like something you’ve experienced, please know that these are not unique to you and have actually been around for thousands of years.
Why aren’t all the things that you “should be doing” actually connecting you into what matters most?
Personal transformation doesn’t have to be another full-time job.
What if you could play your way to a better you?
Why aren’t all the things that you “should be doing” actually connecting you into what matters most?
Personal transformation doesn’t have to be another full-time job.
What if you could play your way to a better you?
Why aren’t all the things that you “should be doing” actually connecting you into what matters most?
Personal transformation doesn’t have to be another full-time job.
What if you could play your way to a better you?
November 5, 2025
When “Work on the Self” Becomes Self-Involved
On the surface, self-help is all about doing the things you want to do,
creating positive experiences for
yourself and empowering you.
It’s about what you want,
who you are,
battling your inner demons,
finding your inner child,
manifesting your dreams.
But once that’s all said and done, transforming your life is not about you.