The reason to play the game is to be free of it
The reason to play these games is to win them, and then you can be free of them. And then you can see what else you want to do or not do, not to keep playing the same games forever.
Because the adult games are very cleverly designed, you can keep playing them infinitely, and they're all ups and downs and ups and downs, and I guarantee you every time you get money you'll be afraid of losing it, and you'll compare to the next person who has it, or every time you get famous now that's an image you'll have to live up to, and now insults can hurt you and now you don't have your privacy anymore, so all of these games have downsides.
You kind of have to realize when you've won the game and say, I'm done with this. One hack is to set the definition early on, so that when you go past it you'll know you have won.
I aspire to be like Socrates and say, 'There's so many things in this world that I do not want.' Either I don't want it, or I have it. I don't want to pick up new desires unconsciously, and I don't want to keep upgrading my lifestyle and expectations to match my circumstances, otherwise I'll be on this treadmill forever. -Naval Ravikant
Towards the end of my nomad days, I realized I'd 'won' the game on travel. I knew I'd won, when I felt like there was little new to learn from the experience... when every city started to look the same and when I realized that for me, happiness is actually about connection, routine, and the simple things... in the things that had nothing to do with my lifestyle as a traveler.
I don't have any travel plans for when COVID is done. Sure, ofc I'll travel again, but I'm free of that game.
Nowadays, I'm working really hard for other goals... goals that once I attain them, I'll probably also realize they don't contribute to my core happiness in a dramatic way.
I just want to simplify, live below my means, and do good work.