Oct 05, 2025 15:00:00

The author behind the classic game book series talks about '9 lessons I've learned in my 90 years of life'

'Choose Your Own

Adventure ,' published by American publishers from 1979 to 1998, was a pioneering gamebook series written in the second person, where the reader becomes the protagonist and makes choices that affect the story. Author Edward Packard , who conceived the original idea for the first Choose Your Own Adventure series and wrote the first one, shares nine lessons he learned from looking back on his life at age 90.

Edward Packard: Choose Your Own Adventure concept creator; author
https://edwardpackard.com/

(PDF file) Nine Things I Learned in Ninety Years - Edward Packard
https://edwardpackard.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Nine-Things-I-Learned-in-Ninety-Years.pdf

Packard was born in 1931 and will be 94 years old in October 2025. In a blog post, Packard said, 'As I approached my 90th year, I looked back on my life and wondered why I had made so many mistakes. I realized that it was mostly luck that had kept me going, not hard work, determination, or wise advice. Looking back, I realized that the consequences of many of my most memorable failures ranged from minor to devastating. But I believe that if I had learned some basic principles earlier, I could have avoided them.' He then shared the 'nine principles I've finally come to understand in my 90+ years of life.'

1: Building yourself up
In her book ' Self-Constitution: Agency, Identity, and Integrity ,' American philosopher Christine Korsgaard explains the importance of 'self-constitution' with 'integrity,' a state of coherence and wholeness. To be a 'good person,' one must follow what Immanuel Kant called 'universal law,' but creating that framework requires an understanding of moral norms that cannot be objectively proven.

However, Packard says that the existence of simple principles, such as 'things that cause suffering and unhappiness are bad, and things that cause joy and happiness are good,' and 'emotions such as anger and hatred are bad, and emotions such as joy and compassion are good,' can serve as the foundation of morality. As Korsgaard states, 'People's actions must arise from rules that govern them; otherwise, they will be governed by impulses.' Without consistency within ourselves, life will be full of chaos. Furthermore, Packard states, 'By creating a unified self in a sincere sense, we will gain confidence, be more resilient to emotional fluctuations, and not be led astray by meaningless impulses.'

2: Wake up and live consciously
'If you're awake and not fully conscious, you're living like a sleepwalker,' Packard said, explaining the importance of 'thinking about the purpose of what you're doing and how your actions affect you and others.' Sleepwalking—not thinking about the meaning of your choices and actions—can be a convenient way to escape from inconvenient truths. However, if it becomes a habit, you may be the only one to overlook the timing when it's obvious to everyone that 'continuing this way will lead to disaster.'

3. Consider what others are thinking and feeling
When interacting with others, it's important to consider how the other person feels and thinks. Considering how the other person feels requires empathy, and considering how the other person is thinking requires the cognitive ability known as '

theory of mind .' Packard recounted an experience in which he spoke in an attempt to make himself look good, only to end up failing. 'I came to realize that decisions about my interactions with others should be made with consideration of how the other person would react to my words and actions,' he said.

4. Make happiness your default state of mind
Packard says that ever since he saw the Dalai Lama 's post on social media, 'As long as we maintain love for others and respect for their rights and dignity in our daily lives, whether we are educated or not, whether we believe in Buddha or God, or in any religion, or whether we have no faith at all, as long as we have compassion for others and act with self-restraint and a sense of responsibility, we are sure to be happy,' he began to believe that 'the basic state of mind is 'happiness.'' The Dalai Lama teaches that to maintain happiness as a basic state of mind, it is necessary not only to receive warmth and love, but also to give them.


5. Seek eternal perspective
The 17th-century philosopher Baruch de Spinoza concluded that by expanding our perspective from our own ego's perspective to that of others, and beyond that to that of the whole universe—God or Nature—we 'capture the broader needs of life and the world.' A perpetual, broad perspective does not impede personal self-interest or emotional satisfaction; rather, it is a prerequisite for serenity and joy.

6. Be prepared for self-deception
Self-deception refers to a state in which decisions or conclusions are influenced or influenced by distorted beliefs, biased emotional states, wishful thinking, etc. A typical example is confirmation bias , in which, when people hold a hypothesis or belief, they tend to gather only information that supports that opinion and unconsciously ignore or underestimate information that contradicts it. Confirmation bias is difficult to avoid even for intelligent people, and in fact, advanced intellectual abilities tend to allow people to construct forceful theories. While Packard understands the importance of avoiding self-deception, he acknowledges that it is difficult to completely prevent it, and emphasizes the importance of 'preparing for self-deception.'

7. How to face death
While the Stoics of ancient Greece and Rome believed that contemplating death in advance could help us cope with sudden death, Spinoza, on the other hand, believed that rather than fearing death, adopting a permanent perspective could cultivate equanimity and self-control in the face of death. 'I prefer Spinoza's way of thinking,' Packard says.

8. Luck plays a huge role
In his book ' Night Thoughts ,' actor, playwright, and essayist Wallace Shawn writes, 'If you've lived a relatively peaceful life, never been bombed or harassed, never lived in fear, and always managed to eat two or three decent meals a day, then you've been lucky. And if you've achieved much in life, it's due, at least in large part, to the opportunities you were given, the paths paved, and the help you received at crucial times.' From genetic factors to the environment you grew up in and the events that shaped your character, luck and chance play a bigger role than you might think. Packard says, 'If you've been lucky, you should be humble and generous; if you haven't been lucky, you should be compassionate toward yourself.'

9. Think about what you have now
As a general rule, it's important to act proactively, take the initiative, and avoid passivity. However, Packard said it's also important to stop and think carefully from time to time. He quoted a line from William Shakespeare: 'It is not until we lose or lack something that we realize its value, and discover virtues that were invisible while we possessed it.' He emphasized the importance of thinking carefully so that we don't later regret 'I wish I had only thought for a moment.'