Games can increase four kinds of resilience: Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Social. With increased resilience, we can bounce back faster from injury or illness, and experience greater well-being and life satisfaction.

1. Download the
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A crash course in getting preview now
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play together
during this
talk!

2. • Free web-based platform
• 35,000 registered players
in 3 months
• iPhone app launches this
month!

3. • UC Berkeley, Greater Good
Science Center
• Stanford University, CCARE
& School of Medicine
• Penn, Positive Psychology
Center
• Ohio State University,
Medical Research Center

4. Dacher Kelter, PhD Christine Carter, PhD Jim Doty, MD
UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Stanford

5. Kelly McGonigal, Ann Marie-Roepke, Lise Worthen-
PhD, Stanford PhD Cand., U Penn Chauduri, MS, OSU

6. • Builds personal resilience
• Boosts physical, mental
and emotional well-being
• Strengthens your social
support system

7. SHOW ME THE
SCIENCE!!!

9. My mission:
Increase the lifespan of everyone in this
room by 7 ½ minutes

10. I have math!
78.1 + 10 = 88.1
10 / 78.1 = +0.128040973
0.128040973 x 365 = +46.7349551
46.7349551 x 24 x 60 = +67298.3353
67 298.3353 / 365 = +184.379001
184.379001 / 24 = +7.68245837

11. YOUR mission:
Decide how to spend your extra
7 ½ minutes!

12. Duh! Spend it
playing games!
Duh! Spend it
playing games!

13. “On your deathbed, are you really going to wish
you spent more time playing World of Warcraft?”

14. “On your deathbed, are you really going to wish
you spent more time playing Angry Birds?”

15. “I hate games. Waste of life. Imagine getting to
the end of your life and regretting all that time.”

17. … it turns out,
there’s research
on this!

18. “1. I wish I
hadn’t worked so
hard.”

19. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”

20. “I wish I’d stayed in touch with my friends.”

21. “I wish I had let myself be happier.”

22. “I wish I’d had the courage to express my
true self.”

23. “I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams, and
not what others expected of me.”

24. WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
1. Work less
2. Reach out to friends more often
3. Do the things that make us happy
4. Express our true selves
5. Spend the time and effort to pursue
our dreams, instead of what others
expect of us

25. WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
1. Work less (and exercise more!)
2. Reach out to friends more often
3. Do the things that make us happy
4. Be honest and open about health
challenges we’re facing
5. Spend the time and effort to pursue
our health

27. Everything is hard. !
The iron fist ispushing
• What I wrote at the time
against my thoughts.!
My whole brain feels
vacuum pressurized. !
If I can't think who am I?!

28. No reading
No writing
No videogames
No work or email
No running
No alcohol
No caffeine

29. NO REASON
TO LIVE.

30. “I’m either going to kill myself,
or I’m going to turn this into a
game.”

32. I felt like I’d survived a trip to the underworld.

34. Post-traumatic
growth

35. 1. My priorities have changed – I’m not afraid
to do what makes me happy.
2. I feel closer to my friends and family.
3. I understand myself better, I know who I
really am now.
4. I have a new sense of meaning and
purpose.
5. I’m better able to focus on my goals and
dreams.

36. Post-ecstatic…
growth

37. It requires
Courage
+ Agency
+ Time

38. Courage, Agency, Time

40. It requires
Courage

41. Let’s play!

42. Make your
hands into fists.
Stand up and Raise them over
take 3 steps.
your head as
high as you can
for 5 seconds.

44. Count
Snap your
backwards
fingers exactly
from 100 by 7.
50 times.
(100, 93…)

46. If you’re inside, Do a quick
find a window YouTube or
and look out of it. Google image
If you’re outside, search for “baby
find a window [your favorite
and look in.
animal].”

47. PHOTOS
COURTESY
OF
SHUTTERSTOCK

49. Send someone a
Shake
quick thank you
someone’s
by text, email,
hand for 6
Facebook or
seconds.
Twitter.

51. CONGRATULATIONS!
For the next 24 hours, you have
increased resilience.
Do something hard.
Stay up late.
Reach out to someone interesting.
Take a risk.

52. Resilience
Score

54. Power
Packs

56. It requires
Agency

59. BEHAVIORAL:
Better chemotherapy
adherence
PSYCHOLOGICAL:
Higher rates of self-
efficacy

63. The pursuit of
happiness

64. The happiness
of pursuit

66. Power
Ups

69. “What worked for me: Going to
SuperBetter when I felt like I needed
help, finding things to do, new power-
ups, and doing them. Even if it didn't
change anything it made me feel like I
was actually doing something about it.
It took away that sense of
powerlessness.”

70. Bad
Guys

71. “The
Power to
Quit
Anything”

72. “Battle
Royale”
(Post-
Concussion)

74. “For the first time I was able to have an
evening where I was very depressed
but able to know that it would get
better. Able to get out of the ""all-or-
nothing"" thinking. Just because you
lost to a bad guy today, you could
win against it tomorrow."

75. Epic
Wins

76. Epic wins
Challenge: Losing Weight
Win: Eat right 7 days in a row

77. Epic wins
Challenge: Reducing stress
Win: Meditate 10 times by Friday

78. Epic wins
Challenge: Sleep better
Win: Sleep without my iPod for
an entire week

79. Epic wins
Challenge: Asthma
Win: Go 6 days without using
my inhaler

80. Epic wins
Challenge: Chronic headaches
Win: Wake up one single day
without a headache!

81. Epic wins
Challenge: Anxiety
Win: Have one really good night

82. Epic wins
Challenge: Depression
Win: Not be bored for 24
hours

83. Epic wins
Challenge: Back pain
Win: Go to theater with my
kids

84. Epic wins
Challenge: Mood swings
Win: Attend an “intro to yoga”
class

86. It requires
Time

88. “I’ve played SuperBetter every day for 3
weeks now. The main thing for me is
playing SuperBetter means I am making
sure I spend at least 15 minutes a day
taking care of myself.”

89. Allies

92. “SuperBetter allows you to spend time
beyond therapy (1 hour a week) - you
can play it any time and any where. It
helps you work on problems whenever
they happen. Helps you involve your
friends (you can't do that with therapy!)”

93. “SuperBetter added a level of
accountability I haven’t had before. I’m
accountable to my allies now.”

94. “We talk in SuperBetter-ese. “That could
have been an epic win.’ ‘You should add
that as a power up.’ It’s become
integrated into our vocabulary.”
“We can talk about stuff more, because
now I have words to put to goals he
has.”

95. “My sister saw my success because she
was my ally. Now she has her own site.”

96. “I wish I’d led a life true to my dreams, and
not what others expected of me.”

100. What makes it
?

103. Stories

104. WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
1. Work less
2. Reach out to friends more often
3. Do the things that make us happy
4. Express our true selves
5. Spend the time and effort to pursue
our dreams, instead of what others
expect of us

105. WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
1. Work less (and exercise more!)
2. Reach out to friends more often
3. Do the things that make us happy
4. Be honest and open about health
challenges we’re facing
5. Spend the time and effort to pursue
our health

106. Courage, Agency, Time

109. Some of us have to survive this trip…

110. … some of choose our own adventure.

111. My mission:
Increase the lifespan of everyone in this
room by 7 ½ minutes

114. So how will you spend your extra 7 ½
minutes today?

115. Jane McGonigal, PhD
Chief Creative Officer,
SuperBetter Labs
jane@superbetter.com
ShowMeTheScience.com

116. What I’m
Playing

117. What I’m Playing

118. What I’m Playing