2016 marks the most contentious presidential election in recent memory.

Early in the campaign, 538 reported that both candidates sported record unfavorability ratings for their party.

Now, in the wake of a Trump victory, protesters have taken to the streets in anger.

Regardless of your politics, it’s clear that the coming four years are going to be highly contentious. Republicans control both houses of Congress and the White House — but Trump isn’t entirely popular with his own party. Prominent Democrats have promised to fight certain Republican policies.

Most notably, Republicans retained only 51 seats of the Senate — in other words, not enough to prevent a filibuster.

A quick definition: in a filibuster, a senator or group of senators prevents a particular bill from being voted on. They basically do this by talking for a long time.

During a filibuster, you aren’t allowed to eat (except hard candy). You aren’t allowed to drink anything but water or milk. You aren’t allowed to go to the bathroom. And you aren’t allowed to sit down.

That’s hard, and many politicians aren’t exactly the picture of health. How are politicians pushing 70 going to stand for 10+ hours at a time?

As with anything, training can help.

Why Expect a Filibuster?

Filibusters are uncommon because they’re hard. But the divisiveness of this election and the stated policies of President-elect Trump may make them more likely.

Two leaders in the Democratic Party, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have declared their intention to work with Trump on some issues and vehemently oppose him on others.

Bernie Sanders

“Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment economics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids – all while the very rich become much richer.

To the degree that Mr. Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.”

He later added:

“If Donald Trump takes people’s anger and turns it against Muslims, Hispanics, African Americans and women, we will be his worst nightmare.”

Elizabeth Warren

“It’s no secret that I didn’t want to see Donald Trump win yesterday. I’m intensely frustrated by the apparent likelihood that, for the second time in five elections, a Democratic nominee will have won the popular vote but lost the presidency in the electoral college. But the integrity of our democracy is more important than any individual election, and those of us who supported Hillary Clinton will respect this result.

President-Elect Trump promised to rebuild our economy for working people, and I offer to put aside our differences and work with him on that task. When he takes the oath of office as the leader of our democracy and the leader of all Americans, it is my sincere hope that he will fulfill that role with respect and concern for every single person in this country, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they believe, or whom they love.”

She added in a later statement:

“And [rebuilding the economy] does not mean bigotry and hate. Whether Donald Trump sits in a glass tower or sits in the White House, we will not give an inch on this, not now, not ever.”

Fighting words make filibusters seem more likely.

Physical Challenges of a Filibuster

No food, no bathroom, no chairs

During a filibuster, eating and drinking are limited, going to the bathroom is not allowed (Sen. Wendy Davis used a catheter for her 11 hour filibuster), and you need to be speaking the entire time.

But perhaps most difficult, you need to stand for the entire duration of the filibuster. Standing for that long is challenging because:

• It puts stress on your core. If your core isn’t strong enough, you’ll start to slouch and get lower back pain.
• Your feet get tired. If you’ve ever had a job that forces you to be on your feet, you know the throbbing pain that comes from standing for a long time.
• Your upper back gets sore. If you have any amount of rounding, it’s going to hurt after 10 hours. Bernie has a bit of a slouch, so this is something for him to worry about.

Senator Davis tried to deal with these by putting on a back brace and wearing comfortable pink shoes (which she later became known for).

But those can only go so far. If you want to filibuster successfully, start training now.

7 Exercises to Train for a Filibuster

If it’s make or break, you want to be sure that you can stand for as long as you need to.

Here are seven exercises that can help you make your filibuster a slow burn.

1) Farmer’s Walks

Farmer’s walks are one of the simplest exercises around. Just pick up two heavy dumbbells and start walking.

In order to walk with heavy weights, you need to have good posture. Farmer’s walks will help strengthen your core and help you maintain good pressure under stress. They can also help keep your shoulders in good position, to avoid rounding your upper back.

Elite coach Dan John is one of the biggest champions of farmer’s walks.

To train for a filibuster, consider mixing up distances. Walking with 160 lbs for 40 yards is great, but can you walk with 40 lbs for a half mile? Both distances and weights will have benefits, since you’re training for the long stand.

2) Planks

The old standby of core training. A proper plank will help you brace your core and protect your spine from slouching.

How long can you hold a plank for? A filibuster can last over 10 hours, so some endurance is probably helpful.

At the same time, consider doing planks in shorter spurts, as advocated by Dean Somerset. Going all out for 10 seconds is a very different feeling from just holding the position, and both kinds of plank can be useful.

3) Hip Thrusts

Core training is super important, but the core isn’t the only part of the body that can contribute to back pain.

Most people have weak glutes. Strengthening your glutes can help you maintain good posture by controlling the position of your pelvis. Bret Contreras, the Glute Guy, is the most outspoken voice on glute bridges. 

For your long stand, think about strengthening your glutes.

Plus, it will give everyone something to look at while you’re up there.

4) Hip Flexor Stretch

Tight hip flexors complete the 3-step checklist for lower back pain (weak core and glutes are the other two).

If your hip flexors are tight and pulling on your pelvis, you may experience some back pain. That’s something you can’t tolerate during a filibuster.

Mobility man Kelly Starrett introduced the couch stretch for hip flexors in one of his earliest videos.

5) Single Leg Deadlifts

We’ve hit the core, the hips, and the butt. But what about the feet?

It’s a bit hard to prepare the feet for such a long ordeal, but single leg deadlifts are a good place to start. In a single leg deadlift, you load up the hamstring and glutes while avoiding some strain on the lower back.

But you also force your foot and ankle to stabilize, which is the real reason they make it onto this filibuster training program.

6) One-arm Cable Row

There hasn’t been much upper body work on this list so far, but it’s important to strengthen your upper back to prevent rounding.

That’s where the one-arm cable row comes in. With it, you can fight slouching posture by strengthening the posterior deltoid, middle traps, and rhomboids.

You’ll also get a little core training in there, from resisting rotation caused by the force of the cable. Baseball specialist Eric Cressey often incorporates this exercise into his programs.

7) Foam Rolling

Foam rolling feels awesome, and working on your glutes and TFL (tensor fascia lata) might help out your back.

But really, I want to talk about rolling out your thoracic spine. If your thoracic spine (upper back) is rounded too much, it’s going to start hurting. Taking a foam roller (or even better, rumble roller or doubled lacrosse balls) to your upper back will help.

Some soft tissue work before (and definitely after!) the filibuster will help you out in a big way.

Get Legislating

Those are seven exercises you can do to prepare for a filibuster.

Remember: the best training is specific. That’s why I’ve called out these exercises, to work on the key physical challenges of standing for 10+ hours.

Still, you might consider practicing before you get up there. Gradually transition to a standing desk and lube up your vocal cords so that you’re ready on the big day.

If you need help staying consistent with these exercises, check out the 5-step technique to stop skipping workouts.

Filibuster away! You got this.

“I didn’t feel like I was fit enough to go to the gym.”

On my first day in the gym, I was surrounded by chalk dust, grunting, and a collection of what felt like the fittest people I’d ever seen.

I was almost too intimidated to go to the gym. I was nervous and I felt judged.

From my conversations with people getting started with exercise, I know that feeling intimidated at the gym is incredibly common. Overcoming gym anxiety is hard. Trust me: everyone has felt it at some point.

Overcoming gym anxiety is the first step towards not feeling judged and getting results. So how can you do it?

The good news is that this will get easier over time. A lot of stress and anxiety is related to uncertainty [1]. With every trip to the gym you’ll get more comfortable and confident because of the mere exposure effect [2]; just experiencing something a few more times make you like it more.

Until then, I caught up with five experts on fitness, personal development, and habit formation to give you the best advice on overcoming gym anxiety.

Here’s how to overcome embarrassment at the gym.

Steve “SJ” Scott of Develop Good Habits: Create a Gym Routine

Many people start out exercising full of motivation. This lasts for a while, but as motivation fades, and far too often, so does the exercise routine.

If you want to make an exercise routine that actually lasts there are three essential things you need to do.

1)     Create a routine.

By ritualizing the exercise process, you take “choice” out of the equation.

• Exercise at the same time every day
• Exercise at the same place
• Do it when you are sick
• Do it when you are tired
• Do it when you have a major project at work

At first this can be extremely difficult, because you have to overcome lots of excuses. You have to set aside time from your busy life to become sacrosanct “workout” time. At first this can seem a burden on the rest of your busy life.

But over time, by creating a routine, you will find that exercising will become an energizing and relaxing part of your lifestyle.

2)     Focus on routine. Not results.

Many people start exercising looking for results first and foremost. When results are slow to appear, they get discouraged. Fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. The results will come, but they take time.

Rather than getting tied up in results early on, focus on the routine. Make the effort to get out every day at the same time. Make it a pattern and get pride from showing up. Not from how much you do or how stunning the results are.

3)     Start small

When you start an exercise routine, you do not need to be a fitness superstar. If all you can manage is a 20 minute walk. Start with that.

The important part is being consistent in your exercise. Your skills, ability and fitness level will increase. You just need to do something every day without fail. This builds the routine and helps ingrain it into your lifestyle.

Successful exercise is all about strengthening the routine of exercise.

Slyvon Blanco of Von Blanco Fitness: Bring a Friend

One of the best (and most effective) ways to overcome gym anxiety is to have a workout buddy when you’re first starting out.

This person could be a friend, family member, or even a personal trainer that you hire. The idea here is to simply have a companion for your first few workouts so you aren’t doing them all by yourself.

When you do things by yourself in an environment you aren’t comfortable with yet, it’s very easy to get anxious. Eventually, you’ll meet other people in the gym (and maybe make some “gym friends”) and that the feeling of anxiousness will go away.

Dan Western of Wealthy Gorilla: Do What’s Comfortable

When I first started working out, I was incredibly underweight. I was 6ft 2″, and weighed just 145lbs.

My friends laughed at me when I said I wanted to join the gym.

In the end, I got heavily into calisthenics. I started working out in my garage, and at local parks, and ended up packing on over 40lbs of muscle. It was only recently when I was travelling that I first set foot in a gym!

If you’re struggling with overcoming gym anxiety, consider starting off with calisthenics. It’s free, it’s fun, it can be done in private, and the gains are real! Check it out!”

Mike Samuels of Healthy Living, Heavy Lifting: Talk to an Expert

Hire a trainer.

I know finding a good trainer is easier said than done, but if you find someone you click with, they can take away all the stress and anxiety of going into the gym.

Even just having your workouts programmed for you gives you one less thing to think about, which can be massively helpful if you get nervous prior to training.

This one might sound weird, but I think headphones help a lot too. Having music pumping straight into your ears drowns out the noise around you and increases focus.

Stephen Guise, Author of Mini Habits: Overcoming Gym Anxiety

“There will always be someone who is further along the path than you are in every area. Instead of seeing that as a threat to your success, see it as irrelevant to your success, because it is! I can’t think of a single time that I changed my life because I thought I compared unfavorably to another person. Can you?

It’s great to have other people in life for support, socializing, and new perspectives, but when it comes to your personal progress, it seems best to leave others out of it, and especially so in the early stages of your growth in an area.

If you’re already world class in running, comparisons to other elite athletes might motivate you to get to the next level (and even in a healthy way). But in that case, you already have the solid foundation to build from. Many people don’t have such a powerful foundation, which is possibly why they want to improve, and so the comparison (to someone well ahead of them) makes them overreact.”

What do you do to feel confident in the gym?

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Having trouble setting up a routine? Check out these resources:

• A 5 Step Technique to Consistently Going to the Gym
• How to Choose a Beginner Weight Training Program You’ll Stick To
• Choosing from 5 Beginner Lifting Routines

References

[1] Hsu, M., Bhatt, M., Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., & Camerer, C.F. (2005). Neural systems responding to degrees of uncertainty in human decision-making. Science, 231, 1680-1683.

[2] Lee, A.Y. (2001). The mere exposure effect: An uncertainty reduction explanation revisited. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1255-1266.

When Saturday morning cartoons lost their appeal, Saturday morning World of Warcraft took their place. 

I played WoW for hours, diving into the fantasy world and totally losing myself there. If you’ve ever lost yourself in an RPG, you know what I’m talking about. There’s an incredible urge, a drive, a need to get to the next level, unlock the next skill, discover the next story.

Video games have an insane power to attract and hold our attention. We catch RPG-OCD, exploring every corner of every cave to make sure we don’t miss out. We think about our next quest when we aren’t even playing, and will sometimes do boring stuff for hours just to level up. I still think fondly of games I haven’t played in 10 years.

What if we could harness the power of video games for fitness?

Really, who has never skipped a workout? Before I figured out how to get consistent, I messed with my workout schedule constantly. I would work out for maybe two weeks, burn out, and give up.

Repeat that every 6 months and you have my old life. I told myself, over and over, that I’d “make it up tomorrow.”

Spoiler alert: I didn’t.

When I tried to get fit, it was hard to find the time. It was hard to stay motivated when life gets in the way.

It can hard to deal with friends and family that don’t understand why you’re trying to change (and keep sending food in your direction). Sometimes it feels lonely.

All that, and you still have to actually do it. That’s hard.

But playing video games is easy. I never had to “find time” to play games, I just did it because video game psychology makes games fun. I’m not going to stand here and claim that you can make fitness as much fun as video games, but using some of the psychology of video games, practicing “video game fitness,” can make everything easier.

Fortunately, video games are literally designed to be rewarding and engaging. Paying attention to the video game psychology, and using it to gamify fitness, can keep you consistent, on track, and constantly motivated.

Step One of Video Game Fitness: The Psychology of Video Game Design

If you want to use video game fitness to get fit, the first step is to understand the psychology of video game design. Video games tend to have psychological characteristics in common [1]. Most good games have these four characteristics:

1.     Social interaction
2.     Player control and autonomy
3.     Compelling storylines
4.     Reward and punishment systems

Think of your favorite game of all time. It probably has all four of these things.

I love Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the Game Boy Advance. I replay it at least every few years, and guess what?

• You can get items by linking with friends
• You have complete control over your characters and in-game strategy
• The story is absolutely brilliant and the characters are compelling
• You can level up, get new skills, get new items, die, and be sent to jail

Great games fill these four characteristics because those characteristics are the reasons we play games in the first place. Video game psychology is based on filling psychological needs, including our desire to be good at stuff, our need to have control over things, and our need for social interaction [2].

Seriously, think about how these characteristics line up with your favorite games. There are some examples coming up, but take a moment to think ahead: can these principles of game design be used for video game fitness? Where do they fit into your life?

Social Interaction in Video Games

MMORPGs are some of the most addicting games out there because of social interaction. In fact, online social interaction is a key predictor of video game addiction [3].

Guild Wars 2 flipped the typical MMORPG structure on its head, creating an environment that encouraged teamwork among complete strangers. There’s an incredible joy in coming across an in-game event and rallying a group to beat it—just from random people passing by.

Add in guilds and PvP, and there are tons of opportunities for social interaction and teamwork. Not surprisingly, the Guild Wars 2 community is absolutely thriving, and the game released its second expansion in September 2017.

When you go to the gym, who do you interact with? Is going to the gym a social activity for you? It doesn’t have to be, but this is one place video game fitness can help.

Control and Autonomy in Video Games

Humans do not like uncertainty; research shows that uncertain situations activate the threat centers of our brain and reduce activation in the reward pathways [4].

Similarly, control over our environment and the ability to make meaningful choices are powerful psychological needs that might even be innate [5]. These needs are a big part of self-determination theory, a popular theory in psychology [6].

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance gave you an incredible amount of choice. You could choose two professions per unit, change professions at will, create a team of different races, mix-up units for each battle, decide on a variety of strategies and moment-to-moment tactics, change-up equipment on the fly… the list goes on.

This is also why games like Skyrim give you like 2,000 options for your character’s nose. When you have the power to make choices, you connect more deeply with the game.

I know on my first day at the gym I was very uncertain. I had no idea what was going on and no idea what to do. Chances are you’ve been there too; most people have, and start out by following cookie-cutter routines. Think about video game fitness—how can you give yourself more control in your exercise routine?

Narrative and Storytelling in Video Games

Humans love stories. Famed cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner argued that we use stories, narratives, and characters to organize and explain the events of our everyday lives [7]. We even conjure up stories to describe the movement of abstract objects [8].

Not only that, but we tend to tell our own stories in the same way throughout our lives. In fact, the way we tell stories has been proposed as a way to measure our personalities [9].

I didn’t play Tales of Symphonia until 2015, 12 years after its release. I was instantly hooked. The puzzles were interesting, but sometimes tedious. The combat was ok, but outdated (and honestly I didn’t even figure it out for most of the game).

But the story was enthralling.

Incredible plot twist followed incredible plot twist and kept me on the edge of my seat. I played for hours on end hunting for the next step in the story. It was almost an interactive TV show instead of a game.

How you tell your own story can affect your actions. When you think of yourself in the gym, are you a nervous newbie, or someone grasping their new, healthy lifestyle with both hands? How you choose to think about yourself can make it easier or harder to work out.

Rewards and Punishments in Video Games

Leveling up. Better equipment. New quests. Death.

All of these are rewards and punishments that make gaming addictive. Grinding in games is usually tedious and boring—but I still do it all the time.

Going all the way back the original Pokemon games, I would sit in Victory Road for hours battling Onyxes in the quest for higher level pokemon. I searched the Safari Zone for Chansey, and used literal slot machines at the Game Corner to get a Dratini.

Rewards look different in different games, but well timed rewards that progress steadily and unlock new gameplay can keep people playing for hours on end.

At the same time, too many rewards (or rewarding the wrong things) can really ruin gameplay.

When I asked Jamie Madigan, author of Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on the People who Play Them, about times when rewards are dangerous, he said:

“The overjustification effect happens when we start offering extrinsic rewards (money, points, discounts codes for gear, etc.) for something that people were already doing just for the enjoyment of it.

Over time we shift towards thinking that those external rewards are the reason we’re doing the activity instead of the internal pleasure. So if those external rewards go away or become irrelevant, we’re left with less motivation than if we had simply let people continue to do things how they want.

I’ve seen this myself in certain running apps. I’ve used a few different kinds of apps to track my runs. I like running and all I really want is something to record and visualize my progress towards my goals. I purposely ignore or even try to disable any leaderboards, games, goofy challenges, or achievements because I don’t want those external motivators to replace the simple joy of running and trying to do better than I did on my last run.”

Reward yourself for things that are difficult; be careful rewarding yourself for things you already like doing.

Is working out a reward or a punishment for you? A lot of people struggle to work out because it’s physically difficult; rewarding yourself (if you do it correctly) can help you stay more consistent in your video game fitness.

The Fifth Factor: Flow

There is a fifth psychological factor that affects the fun of gaming: flow.

When you’re in flow, you’re entirely engrossed in what you’re doing. If you’ve ever been “in the zone,” that’s flow. It’s a state of being totally focused and attentive to what you’re doing. It happens when your skills are perfectly matched to the difficulty of your task.

And it feels awesome.

So if a game can get you into flow, that’s a good sign you’ll have a good time playing that game.

There are 4 aspects of video games that help you get into a flow state [10]:

• Concrete goals with manageable rules
• Goals that fit player capabilities
• Clear and timely feedback
• Few distractions

Do you know what you need to be doing? Are you capable of doing it? Do you know when you’re doing it correctly? Is there anything else to do? If you can answer yes to those four questions, there’s a good chance a game is going to get you into flow.

(hint: video games and fitness aren’t so different. Ask yourself the same questions for fitness)

One of my favorite examples of a flow-inducing game is the browser game TagPro. The game is dead simple: it’s capture the flag where everyone plays as a hard-to-control ball.

But it fits each of these four characteristics:

• The goal is to capture the enemy flag and defend your flag
• At every skill level, there is a role you can contribute to your team
• When you mess up, your ball “pops” and you respawn
• There’s nothing else to do in the game

It’s a simple example, but flow states can occur in a wide variety of game genres, and they make a game highly engaging. In fact, distorted time perception (one characteristic of flow) is a predictor of video game addiction [11].

Gamify Fitness with Video Game Psychology

Great, you know a thing or two about video games, but how is that going to help you get fit? What’s the next step towards video game fitness?

If video games are appealing because they meet our psychological needs, meeting those needs in exercise should make fitness appealing.

How can you use the psychology of video games to gamify fitness and incorporate each need?

Video Game Fitness Principle One: Social Interaction

• There are dozens of online forums dedicated to fitness. I used to love hanging around Fitocracy, a platform actually focused on gamifying fitness. Nowadays I prefer /r/fitness, /r/weightroom, and /r/advancedfitness. There are dozens of fitness Facebook groups, and FitBit is getting popular. Finding a place to talk about fitness online makes it part of your social interactions.
• Get a workout partner. My old workout buddy is now one of my best friends. Working out with someone is a great bonding experience.
• Join a team or group fitness class. A great way to meet new people and friends.
• Try any of the other methods in my free ebook. There’s a whole section titled Getting Gym Motivation From the People Around You.

Video Game Fitness Principle Two: Control and Autonomy

• Give yourself control over your workouts. Too many people print out cookie-cutter programs (that may or may not work) and follow them to the letter…and then quit. Do you have exercises you especially enjoy, and some you don’t? Make your workout yours.
• Do your workouts on your terms. It’s tempting to try to work out in the morning and eat every 2 hours because that’s what you’re “supposed” to do. But if it’s not how you work best, you’ll burn out.

Video Game Fitness Principle Three: Narrative and Story

• What story are you telling yourself? The way you talk about your story can have a major impact on how consistent you are.
• Look at other fitness stories. If you need to get motivated, almost nothing is as compelling as reading success stories of people like you. Seeing those successes helps you believe that fitness is possible.

Video Game Fitness Principle Four: Rewards and Punishment

• Rewarding yourself for fitness isn’t a new idea, but most people do it wrong. Use a small reward after each workout to give yourself a boost.
• Remember that workouts are inherently rewarding. Watching yourself get stronger feels awesome
• Check out this article I wrote for more specifics on how to use good rewards

Video Game Fitness Principle Five: Flow

• Your workouts should be easy to understand and you should know how to do them
• Your workouts shouldn’t be too easy or too hard (they should match your skill level)
• You should get feedback when you do things well. Just finishing reps is a start, but having a friend or trainer can help with this.
• You shouldn’t be distracted. If messing around on your phone or listening to a podcast gets you to the gym, that’s fine. But you’ll be more likely to enjoy the process if you’re fully engaged.

You don’t necessarily need to use every piece of video game design to gamify fitness. But as you glance over these lists, think of the slight changes you can make to your workouts to make them more fun and keep you more consistent. Think about video game fitness.

Finally, think about your favorite video game. Can you see these psychological factors at play?

 

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Citations:

[1] King, D.L., Delfabbro, P.H. & Griffiths, M.D. (2010). Cognitive behavioural therapy for problematic video game players: Conceptual considerations and practice issues. Journal of CyberTherapy and Rehabilitation, 3, 261-273.

[2] Przybylski A. K., Scott C., & Ryan R. M. (2010). A motivational model of video game engagement. Rev. Gen. Psychol. 14, 154–166.

[3] Hull, D. C., Williams, G. A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: A pilot study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2, 145–152.

[4] Hsu, M., Bhatt, M., Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., & Camerer, C.F. (2005). Neural systems responding to degrees of uncertainty in human decision-making. Science, 231, 1680-1683.

[5] Leotti, L. A., Iyengar, S. S., & Ochsner, K. N. (2010). Born to choose: The origins and value of the need for control. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14, 457–463.

[6] Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 54-67.

[7] Bruner, J. (1991). Narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18, 1-21.

[8] Heider, F. & Simmel, M. (1944). People create stories from abstract images. The American Journal of Psychology, 57, 243-259.

[9] McAdams, D.P., Bauer, J.J., Sakaeda, A.R., Anyidoho, N.A., Machado, M.A., Magrino-Failla, K., White, K.W., & Pals, J.L. (2006). Continuity and change in the life story: A longitudinal study of autobiographical memories in emerging adulthood. Journal of Personality, 74, 1371-1400.

[10] S. Baron (20012, March 22). Cognitive flow: The psychology of great game design. Retrieved from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/166972/cognitive_flow_the_psychology_of_.php

[11] Hull, D. C., Williams, G. A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Video game characteristics, happiness and flow as predictors of addiction among video game players: A pilot study. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 2, 145–152.