Steal From the Players Who Beat You

My kids are deep into the card game Sushi Go.

The first week of gameplay, Rock lost every game.
He was fed up on Sunday.

I try harder than all of you and I’m always last!
This game isn’t fair.

That resonates with me.
Trying hard, losing, watching others succeed.
I’m sure it resonates with you too.

It feels fair that if you try harder, you get further.
But direction is more important than effort.
Effort in the wrong direction takes you further from a goal.

So I tell him:

Your strategy sucks.
It doesn’t matter how hard you try.
Stockpiling Maki only gets you a 6 points per round.
You’re gonna lose.
Pull your head out of your butt and try something different.
Steal from the players who beat you.

He did.
Now he’s winning.
Guess I need to steal from him now.

🍣 chantastic

Question: Where do you put effort in the wrong direction?
Where does ego prevent you from identifying a better strategy?