What life lessons have you learned from gaming? originally appeared on Quora, the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.

I learned that your greatest enemy is the excuse you create for yourself.

In one level of Mass Effect 2, I found myself ambushed. I was on a small floating platform filled with enemies - and more enemies on platforms above raining fire and psychic shockwaves. Nowhere to run. All I had for protection was a waist-high wall to crouch behind, but the cover it provided lasted seconds while enemies flanked and rushed my position.

I have no idea how many times I played that one encounter over and over again, losing my squadmates and trying every tactic I could think of. Shoot the heavy hitters first - no. Use a power on the closest enemy - no. Spread out damage to stall for time - no. Nothing worked.

I had a choice to make. Do I listen to the voices in my head saying “this is a waste of time, you clearly aren’t good at this game,” or “the designers of this game made this too hard on purpose”? Or do I forget all of that and push through?

A lot of people decry video games for not being real - the consequences don’t matter and they are a waste of time. But in that moment, I was wrestling with the same voices of doubt in everything I set out to do.

Those voices that say that I am not creative enough. That my speech is too monotonous for podcasting. That the economy wouldn’t let me get a good job, let alone with NASA.

That moment on the platform was a test against virtual enemies, sure, but that includes the ones that I create.

So when I beat that challenge, I also beat the excuses that hold me back mentally. I scored a win, proving that the next time they arise - I don’t have to listen.

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