Is Video Gaming Coming into Your Life?

Do you feel like you have enough entertainment in your life or things could be more exciting?

In the event you said the latter, what steps will you take to find more entertainment sooner than later?

Has the idea of playing video games crossed your mind at all?

If you said yes, do you have any thoughts to how best going about it?

What Kind of Equipment Will You Focus on?

In looking at the equipment you will need to play, know that you won’t have to break the bank to get it.

By doing some online research and finding deals, you can score some great equipment.

So, from PS5 headphones to the right console, keyboard, gaming mice and more, you want to know what you are getting.

The Internet can be a big help to you when it comes time to buying equipment.

That is because you can go right to a specific gaming brand website and see what they have to offer. Also take the time to check out their social media offerings. Still another option is to see what gaming experts have to say. This would be when it comes to their blogs, videos, podcasts and more.

While all that should be a big help, you can also turn to consumer reviews and their two cents on gaming equipment.

At the end of the day, you should have no shortage when it comes to gaming equipment info guiding you.

Build Yourself a Nice Gaming Collection

Even with all the nice equipment you will compile in a short amount of time, what about the games you will play?

Some gamers tend to focus on what particular genre of games. For others, they like a wide array of games to play.

No matter if you like sports, crime, combat and more, you should have no problem forming a collection. 

In the event you have any young children in the home, are they into gaming too? 

If you have a desire for them to play, you can start them out when they are at the appropriate age to do so. From there, build a nice collection of games for them that they will enjoy playing.

Will You Connect with Other Gamers?

One of the fun things with gaming is that you have the possibility of matching up with other gamers over time.

That said look to different gaming apps to help you make those connections.

Apps such as WeGamers, GameTree, GamerLink and more can put you in touch with the right people.

Before you know it, you may have more than simply gaming friends to compete with. You could end up making some new friends. If this occurs, those friendships can spread to other areas of life and make for some connections.

Last, you should look at video gaming as something to enjoy and never stress over.

So, this means you do not get upset over the times you lose playing. You can’t win all the time, so appreciate the fact you get to play in the first place.

When it comes right down to it, gaming can be an enjoyable activity for you that can open doors to a whole new world.

With that in mind, will you get your game on?

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Why The European Super League Could Kill Football As We Know It

Money talks in football. Some people already say it talks too loudly; the past few years have seen transfer records shattered again and again, with the world’s top players changing hands for more than the entire GDP of some developing nations. TV money for the biggest leagues and clubs runs into the billions. Despite that, ticket prices for the average fan continue to rise in some countries even though the clubs charging for access are richer than ever. For a few fans, the game is already ‘gone’ – the connection between a town or city’s club and the people who live in the area has been broken, and too many players are more motivated by money than they are love of the game.

The perceived problem also extends to the boardroom. The world’s largest clubs are often owned by businessmen or huge corporations, many of whom have little or no interest in the sport, and either use the club as a form of personal entertainment, or means to expand upon their already massive wealth. With each passing season, the sport feels more and more like its out of the hands of the public, and securely within the grasp of big business.

If a report by German newspaper Der Spiegel is to be believed, that issue might be about to get even worse.

The European Super League

The paper claims to have seen evidence that many of Europe’s top clubs are preparing to create an annual European Super League, contested between themselves, at the exclusion of everybody else. There’s even been a suggestion that the interested clubs are willing to completely divorce themselves from their current national leagues and compete solely within this new league, thus reducing the quality of both their domestic league and the players in it.

The appeal is obvious. The European Champions League is the richest and most prestigious competition in club football. Only the World Cup can truly rival it in terms of size and appeal. All the biggest clubs want to be in it, all the greatest players want to play in it, and all the richest sponsors want their names to be plastered all over it. According to Der Spiegel’s report, the teams involved in this new league will be selected purely based on their cash value, their history of success, and their global profile. Instead of the occasional weekend fixture where Manchester United might be playing a lower ranked team at home like Cardiff City, they could be playing a team of the quality of Juventus or Inter Milan on a weekly basis. Real Madrid no longer need to worry about playing Levante; they’ll be up against Bayern Munich, or Chelsea. No more dud games. No more low stakes. Every game, every week of the season, will be high profile.

To the businessmen in charge of the idea, it makes all the sense in the world. If every game is huge, then they can demand more money from both sponsorship and television to broadcast it and be attached to it. The world’s biggest gambling firms are already involved in sponsoring football in all of Europe’s major leagues, but when they sign on the dotted line for their deals, none of them are truly relishing the prospect of sponsoring Fulham vs Brighton & Hove Albion. It’s the massive games that they want their brand to be connected to, and a European Super League would be like finding Queen Cleopatra’s gold every week. Big money sponsors aren’t in the habit of backing a loser. This idea wouldn’t have got off the ground if someone didn’t think it had potential.

Why Fans Lose Out

It’s the prestige and exclusivity of such a concept that puts fans off the idea. According to the draft plans that have been leaked so far, the league wouldn’t have any annual promotion or relegation; the teams are the teams, and would remain there every year much as they do in the American NFL, regardless of how well or poorly they performed. Eleven of the proposed sixteen teams would be ‘founder members’ with bulletproof status, with the remaining five being ‘invited guests’ who may or may not be replaced further down the line.

Firstly, creating such a structure removes the romantic thrill of a complete outsider winning the top prize from nowhere. Never again would we see a Leicester City story. Never again would we see a team come up from a lower league and suddenly compete at the top of the table. Competition would stagnate, and teams would become complacent and lazy.

Secondly, what makes the Champions League so great as it is right now is the fact that it’s an achievement just to get there, and the games are special. Entering the Champions League is the culmination of a season of hard work from the teams who qualify for it. Barcelona vs AC Milan is a special game because it doesn’t happen every week. The more we see a fixture, the less special it becomes. It wouldn’t take long before the all-star nature of the fixtures started to lose their luster. For the teams who seem likely to finish lower down the rankings of a European Super League – the Arsenals and Athletico Madrids of the world – it could damage the perception of them as a top class club, full stop.

The Association of European Leagues – a body which represents 900 clubs across 25 European countries – has already issued a statement condemning the proposal, and stating that the creation of this new league would harm the standing of their member clubs, take money away from teams who weren’t involved, and decrease the value of every individual country’s domestic competition. If all the money goes into the new Super League, there will be less going into the EPL, La Liga, Serie A and all the leagues below them. Television and sponsorship money will decrease. Clubs will, inevitably, go out of business.

European Super Leagues have been proposed, or at least discussed, a number of times since the 1990s. None have ever got off the ground, or progressed past the first couple of rounds of talks. This latest proposal seems to have a little more weight behind it, and has progressed to a farther point than perhaps any before it. It’s to be hoped, for the good of domestic club football, that someone pulls the plug before it’s too late.

European Super Leagues have been proposed, or at least discussed, a number of times since the 1990s. None have ever got off the ground, or progressed past the first couple of rounds of talks. This latest proposal seems to have a little more weight behind it, and has progressed to a farther point than perhaps any before it. It’s to be hoped, for the good of domestic club football, that someone pulls the plug before it’s too late. While we wait to see what happens with the Super League, fans can get their football fill with the UEFA Champions League which is available for streaming almost everywhere in the world.

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Does Your Personality Change throughout Your Life? If So, Can You Control It?

Fact: Major Changes Take Place in Personality As You Mature

Long-held theory on personality is that it is intransigent to change. It is assumed that our personalities are developed in childhood, and fixed for life. Outgoing personalities remain so, introverted personalities remain so, aggressive personalities remain so, and calm personalities remain so, and so forth. But new research from Sanjay Srivastava PhD goes counter to the grain of conventional wisdom. Extensive research was conducted on 132,515 adults between the ages of 21 and 60. Over their lifespan, the top 5 personality traits were studied. These include neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. Quite surprisingly, there were major changes in personality as people aged. The most notable changes in personality took place with those who are disciplined, organized, and led structured lives. This aspect of personality increased with age, as people’s careers started to blossom in their personal lives developed.

Another important personality trait that showed dramatic change over the years was affability. People are generally more inclined to be kindhearted and affable after the age of 30, according to the study. This trend continued throughout later years, particularly among women, but was present in men too. Not all aspects of personality are as likely to change as others. For example, extroverted personality behavior and neurotic personality behavior showed gender discrepancies. Younger women generally scored higher than men in those departments. Over time however, that gap narrowed. Of course, the personality factors that were studied online and in person are subject to demographic, locational, cultural, and other factors.

Can You Up the Ante by Playing to Your Personality Strengths?

Interesting data has been collected over time, and there is compelling evidence to suggest that success is possible with all personality types. Nowhere is this more evident than competitive gaming. Poker remains the most glaring example of how a specific personality can succeed, regardless of the conditions. This is called playing to your personality strengths. A risk-averse player can be as successful as an aggressive player in the game of poker. A great example of this is Bruno Politano. This poker champ has always played his cards close to his chest, and he has won an incredible $1,185,614 to date. He maintains that despite the situation, every play should be deliberate and the least amount of risk should be taken. His deliberate plays are closely associated with the organized personality type. Otherwise known as The Rock, Bruno believes that variance is less important than knowledge in games of poker. This dovetails perfectly with his personality and game plan.

Can You Control Personality Changes?

All personalities have strengths and weaknesses. For many of us, it would be desirable to be able to control our personalities by being less aggressive, more assertive, extroverted or impassioned about certain things. The fact of the matter is that no single personality is best for all situations. What is preferable is the right emotions and behavior at the right time. Many folks wish for a different personality type such as an extroverted personality if they are introverted. Other folks wish that they were more organized and disciplined when they live in a haphazard laissez-faire sort of way. Can you possibly change your personality type? While personality cannot really be changed too much, if at all, our traits can be adapted to meet our life challenges. In other words, our environment directly impacts the traits and behaviors inherent in our personality. In a stressful situation, we may rely more on our organizational skills and diligence to succeed than we do on our introverted nature.

This makes us appear to be assertive when we are inherently shy. Another great example is the difference between our work lives and our social lives. At work, we may be inclined to be assiduous and detail oriented, organized and structured. Outside of work, we may enjoy cutting loose and being hedonistic. Which is the true personality type? Are they mutually exclusive? It should be pointed out that a sociable person may not necessarily be an extrovert. Somebody who is affable to others in public may not be an extrovert by nature. By contrast, an introvert who is sociable may be mistaken for an extrovert. We learn certain behaviors, and character traits from our interactions with our environment.  Consider these as your shadow traits, and careful management of them will be conducive to a happier existence.

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