Hookt is a 5-Letter Word

Hi. I’m Terrie. And I am a Wordle-holic.

If that means nothing to you, you’re probably not on social media. If you are, you’ve seen strange little grids appearing on your feed with yellow, green, and black or white squares and obscure numbers that either annoy or intrigue you. Like me, you may have wondered about the crazy fad. Maybe, like me, you decided you wouldn’t jump on the bandwagon. You didn’t need one more distraction. Only losers waste time on online games, right?

Then my son, typically not a bandwagon on-jumper, started posting his daily Wordle scores. Suddenly, I had to give it a try. You could call it Sudoku for word people. I hate Sudoku. Love Wordle.

Wordle is an online game created by software engineer Josh Wardle of Brooklyn, New York. (Not to be confused with the Josh Wardle of Regina who’s been plagued by media for comment on something with which he had nothing to do.) According to Daniel Victor’s article in the January 3, 2022 issue of The New York Times, Wardle initially created the game for his word game-loving partner, Palak Shah, for the two of them to play. “I wanted to create something I knew she’d enjoy,” he said.

The object is to find the secret five-letter word of the day in six tries or fewer. After you guess the first word, correct letters turn yellow, green if they’re also in the correct spot. Each try must be an actual word. If your guess is not on Wordle’s list, it’s rejected and does not count as a guess. Since the English language has around 12,000 five-letter words, many of which are obscure, Wardle and Shaw reduced their list to around 2,500 words. By releasing only one puzzle a day, this still gives them enough for almost seven years.

After the game expanded to family members who also loved it, Wardle decided to make it available to the public. On its first day last November, ninety people played. Two months later, nearly 300,000 people played. Articles appeared, providing helpful tips and tricks for winning the game as well as words to avoid. Multiple off-shoots have sprung up where you can play with six-letter words, play four or eight games at once, and other variations. There’s a Canadian version called Canuckle, one for music fans called Heardle, a Mennonite option called Nah Yo-dle, and more.

The NY Times has since purchased rights to the original, and I imagine Wardle is financially set for life.

Three characteristics draw people to Wordle. First, you can play only once a day. Scarcity can be attractive. Secondly, the game takes only about three minutes out of your day so isn’t a huge time-waster like many others. Thirdly, because everyone gets the same puzzle on the same day, a sense of community is created. The built-in method of easily sharing your success level provides a way to connect with others. Who doesn’t need more connection these days?

Like any good game, Wordle provides a fine balance between luck and strategy to keep it challenging while still giving you something at which to succeed. Therein, I suspect, lies the addictive properties of this or any game. We crave that pop of endorphins our brains release when we win.

Harmless, though, since you can do only one per day. Right?

Woops. Someone kindly directed me to a site where you can play Wordle’s archived games. Because I began playing the game on Day 220, its archives contained 219 games I had not yet played. I’m trying to limit myself to three a day. I’m sure I can quit whenever I want.

The New Living Translation of Proverbs 18:20 says, “… the right words bring satisfaction.” (How’s that for taking scripture out of context?)

 

Breaking Bad...Habits

You probably already know how addictions are formed; how the human brain responds to hits of dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone. You already know that alcoholics serious about kicking their addiction must remove all traces of alcohol from their environment. You grasp the concept of how clearing your home of junk food helps you shed bad eating habits. And so on.

But understanding how and why this happens is a fascinating science and can be encouraging because it means you can train or retrain your brain to respond the way you want it to.

In his book, Atomic Habits, James Clear explains the four-step process of Cue, Craving, Response, and Reward. For example, you see a plate of cookies. That’s the Cue. The second step, Craving, is the way you interpret the cue—as in, “I should eat one.” The third step, Response, is the action (you eat one). And lastly, the Reward. It tastes good.

All of that is easy enough to grasp.

What I found intriguing is what studies of the human brain reveal. Once we become addicted, the dopamine spike in our brain does not happen at the point of Reward, or even the point of Action. It spikes at the second step, the Cue. In other words, it’s the anticipation of the reward, not the reward itself, that triggers the rush. A gambler’s dopamine spikes when he sees the dice, not when he throws it.

What does this tell us? Perceived value motivates you to act. Which means perception, at any point along this path, can change the whole outcome. So, whether you’re trying to develop a good habit or break a bad one, four laws of behavior change accompany these four stages: make the habit obvious, attractive, easy, and immediately satisfying.

On the flip side, if you’re trying to break a bad habit, the four laws are the opposite: make it invisible, unattractive, difficult, and unsatisfying. This all takes a little creativity, but the book provides tricks. The best news is that often by addressing only one or two of these steps, you can successfully change your habit.

Here’s one way I stumbled into this. For years, I used to read my Bible and a short devotional while I ate breakfast. Both were good habits—physical and spiritual nutrition all at once. Then I switched my breakfast from granola to smoothies. Drinking a smoothie did not require sitting, so I took it to my bedroom and sipped on it while I dressed, put on my makeup, and did my hair. I was having a more nutritious, lower calorie breakfast and saving time.

The only problem was, after a while I realized I was no longer reading my Bible. I had “unbundled” my habits and lost something precious in the process!

Last December, I accepted a challenge to read through the book of Luke, a chapter a day. I bought a pretty journal and sat beside the Christmas tree before dawn with my favorite coffee. I lit a candle and turned on my fake fireplace. Soon I was loving the experience so much, I didn’t want the month to end. The highly welcoming atmosphere had tied itself to the habit I was trying to form.

With the tree put away, I was able to keep the habit going at my desk—by keeping my Bible and a new journal handy on my desktop and using a favorite new fountain pen I received from my son for Christmas. Of course, I kept the candle and coffee. It seems silly, but it worked. It’s several little things, but they made the experience obvious, attractive, easy, and immediately satisfying.

 

Which is the whole point. Little things. Every day. Over time. Equals results.

Ruining the Devil's Day

Imagine that every morning when you wake up, you see Satan face to face. Every morning, in a surprisingly accurate impersonation of Clint Eastwood, he glares into your eyes and says, “Go ahead. Make my day.”

Those of us who follow Jesus hope to please God with our words and actions every day—and often fall short. We know he still loves us, his grace is sufficient, and we can start fresh tomorrow. But what we don’t often think about is how easily we can defeat Satan when we do what pleases the Lord. Life throws things at us all day long which our enemy hopes will trip us up, and when we fall for it, he succeeds. What if you could remember that anything which does not make the devil’s day is a victory for you?

Does it make the devil’s day when your car or expensive appliance or computer breaks down? Sure, it does. Ask yourself, “how can I ruin the devil’s day in this situation?” The answer is with your attitude. When you take a deep breath, calm down, keep things in perspective, remain grateful, and continue to speak kindly and patiently to those around you—you kick the enemy right in the teeth.

Does it make the devil’s day when you’re in pain? You bet it does. It’s one of his favorite things, because physical pain can defeat our spirits so quickly. Ask yourself, “how can I ruin the devil’s day in the middle of this?” The answer is by continuing to trust God. When you say, “Lord, I hate this and I don’t understand it. But you are my Creator, I know you love me, and I trust you to use this for good in my life,” you beat the enemy at his own game.

Does it make the devil’s day when you hold a grudge? Oh yes. He knows how the slow poison of unforgiveness will corrode your soul until little is left but a bitter, hard stone. You don’t even need to ask yourself how you can ruin the devil’s day because the answer is obvious. Forgive the person who wronged you. Let God deal with them and set yourself free.

Does it make the devil’s day when you’ve gained ground on an addiction you’ve struggled with for years? No, it most certainly does not. So he tries to convince you it’s merely behavior modification, not healing. You’ve steered clear of it for months, but it doesn’t feel like freedom. The temptation is still strong, the gaping hole it’s left in your heart remains empty. You feel defeated—which is right where the enemy wants you. You’ve fallen for a lie, you’ve made his day. Ask yourself: “how can I ruin the devil’s day when I feel so overwhelmed?” The answer is by celebrating the triumph of your own obedience, by declaring to the devil and to yourself that you are more than a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:37). 

In C.S. Lewis’s classic, The Screwtape Letters, the demon Screwtape instructs his nephew Wormwood on how to defeat Christians (hence, any use of “the enemy” refers to God). Screwtape says, “Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” [emphasis mine]

You have the power. Now get out there and ruin the devil’s day.

"We are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:11).