Overwatch was my first ever PC game, and it was my first FPS game. I placed at 1435 SR (Bronze) in Season 5, playing Lucio. Now I’m at 4142 SR (GM) in Season 18, playing Roadhog. Here are five principles I’ve learned about life from my climb in Overwatch:

1. You can only control your own gameplay.

In OW: It may be tempting to blame your teammates for not peeling, not healing, not damaging, not killing, or not communicating. But at the end of the day, your own play is all you have control over. Don’t worry about what your teammates are doing. Trust them to an extent, but place the most emphasis on your own play. Don’t rely on them to do anything for you – don’t set expectations that they can’t meet. For example, if you overextend, don’t blame your team for not pushing up and covering you. Instead, ask yourself why you made that play in the first place.

In life: Not all things will always go your way. People say that life isn’t fair. But while there are many things you can’t control, what you can control is your own reaction, mindset, mood, and performance in life. Don’t get caught up in events that you can’t control. Just focus on doing the best you can every day.

2. Deliberate practice is the quickest way to improve.

In OW: If you really want to get better, be intentional about what you’re trying to improve at each session. Treat it like you were practicing any other sport. For example, some days I work on getting more value out of my ult. Some days I’m just practicing mechanics. Some days I’m focusing on playing into a certain comp, like playing into Bastion comps or against double-shield. Point is, you always need to have one or two things to work on. Don’t fall into the trap of autopiloting.

In life: You need to pinpoint your weaknesses and focus on one or two things at a time in order to improve. You can’t make sweeping changes all at once. Maybe this means starting with waking up early, then adding in exercise a few months later, then adding in meditation. At the same time, if you’re stuck on something, the best thing you can to do improve is to break it down into small parts and focus on improving each part one at a time.

3. Consistency is key.

In OW: You need to play a lot of games to improve. Understand that you can’t expect to just watch some YouTube videos, play some FFA, do some third-party aim training, and then jump into a comp game and get better. If you want to improve your skill in comp, then you need to play comp regularly.

In life: To improve your skill at anything in life, you need to be consistent in your practice. No one got good at any skill – whether it’s basketball, painting, or playing guitar – by doing it every once in a while. Be mindful about scheduling times to hone your skills, and stick to your plan.

4. Focus on the process, not the goal.

In OW: Skill comes before SR. If you want to climb, don’t focus on winning each game and gaining SR. Instead, focus on improving your own skill and gameplay, because the SR will naturally reflect your improvement. Every time I focus on trying to win a game to get SR to get a better rank, I end up tilting and losing. But when I focus on playing consistent, fundamentally sound Overwatch, I end up winning more games as a byproduct. Rank comes with skill, not the other way around.

In life: When creating a new habit or working toward a goal, focus on the process and not the end result. Instead of imagining a jacked body, focus on the process of getting to the gym every day and staying consistent with that. Instead of dreaming about the goal of publishing a book, work on writing a small amount each day.

5. “gg go next.”

In OW: Some games are simply unwinnable. Don’t get caught up in the individual losses, because as your sample size of games increases, each individual loss matters less. Don’t sweat the games with leavers or throwers for the same reason. Just go next and do your best the next game.

In life: Everyone has bad days. Maybe you bombed a presentation, failed a test, or had an unproductive, distracted day. Don’t dwell on it – just focus on doing your best the next day with a clean slate.